Season of Change, Season of Return
by atomicseasoning
Summary: My version of Gossip Girl Season 6, based on pics, spoilers, episode titles, speculations and mostly my imagination. Includes all the charcters, though mostly Chuck and Blair. Rated M only for language and occasional romantic scenerios.
1. Chapter 1 Gone Maybe Gone?

Gone Maybe Gone?

The sun streamed through the windows and onto the faces of the two people occupying the king sized bed that was in the middle of the bedroom of the Presidential Suite at the Hotel De Paris in Monte Carlo. The female occupant, Blair, reluctantly lifted her head toward the source of light, streaming through the billowy curtains, for just a moment before burying her face against the bare chest of the male occupant and bed mate, Chuck, who breathed a snoring sigh. To Blair, burying her face against Chuck's chest, and wrapping her arms and legs around his body felt just right. The feel, the sent, the size were all to her unique specifications, and she felt a bit like Goldilocks in her mental comparison of men though she'd rather not think of her recent cast-offs or rejects.

Not wanting to dwell on thoughts of those past fellows and the many mistakes and the rest of the drama her life had been for the past year, Blair continued to snuggle against Chuck and began to fall back asleep, when suddenly the phone rang on their bedside table. Startled, Blair tried to sit up and reach for the phone, leaning over her man so as to not disturb his sleeping form, but it was to no avail, as Chuck woke up and reached for the phone instead.

"Hello...uh...oui...uh...merci...uh thanks..." Chuck mumbled into the phone as he held it to his ear for a moment before settling it back in its cradle and rolling over to glance down at Blair with seductively sleepy eyes, a definite twinkle in them.

"So who was that? Your mother trying to disturb our peace again? Or Jack? Or my mother?" Blair mumbled lazily.

"No...just our morning wake up call courtesy of the hotel." he smirked as he ran his hand slowly down her body under the covers, as she sleepily replied "Oh...I hate wake up calls. Five more minutes" and nearly fell back to sleep, but her erstwhile partner had other ideas. "Mm...so do I...but that wasn't what I consider a wake up call...this is..." he smirked as he drew her leg over his body to straddle his hips, pushing his most fervent appendage that was suddenly alert with morning readiness into her awaiting heat. Oh yes, Chuck Bass certainly knew how to give the type of wake up call that Blair always loved.

xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, back in the US, a golden haired beauty woke up from the first good morning she'd had in a long time. Too long or so it seemed, although it'd only been two weeks since she'd been picked up by the people from the drug rehab center who said they were going to help her detox and so far that had been the case. Serena Vanderwoodsen glanced at herself in the unbreakable mirror above the vanity as she pulled her hair back and splashed cool water on her face, wishing that she had her favorite emollient cream from Le Mer, or even the Body Shop, but no, nothing like that was allowed in the facility such as it was. Instead she washed her face with the Dove beauty bar that she'd been given, using her hands and the water, patting her face with the washcloth, inspecting her skin for any blemish. As with most young women, Serena found more flaws with her face than others might, mentally chastising herself for forgetting to book an appointment with her dermatologist to get rid of the mole on her cheek, but like with anything it was something she'd mean to get around to but never did.

Finding no new blemishes on her pore-less skin, Serena fixed her ponytail, brushed her teeth, and left the bathroom, passing someone else in the hall as she made her way to the dining room to eat her breakfast with the other people at the treatment facility. These people had become like friends to her and she was reluctant in some ways to leave, especially since in her short time there, they had been better friends than her supposed 'best-friend-in-the-world' Blair Waldorf had been to her in the past year, let alone the love of her life Dan Humphrey. The betrayal she had felt when they fell into a relationship with each other so suddenly, and right during the time of her grandmother's death, had cut like a knife. Especially since she knew Blair was just using Dan to escape her real life issues at the time, and Dan was either using Blair to get back at her for some slight...or he really had been infatuated with her best friend? Serena wasn't sure, and would rather not dwell on that situation or else it would drive her to the substances she was really trying to kick.

Thus she was thankful for the program she'd been drawn into by the well meaning person who'd literally rescued her from the gutter. Steve Spence and the Spence House Program had been literal life savers for her and several others there. Part life coach, part psychological counselor, Serena found him to be a godsend to her problems. The program wasn't quite AA, but it seemed to be based off of it, which meant that beyond the organic withdrawl drugs they gave, it also included a holistic approach that stated that residents had to learn to find their center through meditation or prayer, exercise, and learning to forgive oneself and others for real or perceived wrongs.

Forgiving Blair was one thing, since their past had included numerous tiffs and fights, and the thing that had driven the biggest wedge between them, Blair's relationship with Dan, was a non-issue now since Blair finally followed her heart and reunited with her own true love, Chuck Bass. Forgiving Dan though would be a whole other issue, since Dan had treated her like such an asshole the last time she'd seen him. His seemingly wholehearted rejection of her had been the hardest to take and had been the die that cast her briefly again into the underworld of substance abuse.

Fortunately she'd been saved, but being able to forgive might take more strength and soul searching than she had at the moment. So thus to fortify herself physically at least, she needed sustenance...and what better sustenance than a Greek yogurt & fruit parfait with homemade granola on top. The breakfast of champions which reminded her of fond memories at Constance, back when life seemed far simpler indeed.

xoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile over in Rome, a fluffy haired, skinny, pretentious fellow reread the Fodor's Guide Book for Rome for the upteenth time as he tried to avoid staring at the tourist girls giggle, gossip, and run past the fountain as they threw coins in to make a wish. Seeing girls like that running and playing around brought back memories he'd much rather forget. Memories of heartache and betrayal...at least as he saw it. Girls like that did nothing more than play games with your heart, then stomp on it until it was dead as they then ran back to their older or far sexier real lovers. Guys like him never stood a chance to girls like that...so that's why he'd get his revenge because as he saying went 'The pen was mightier than the sword..' (Now if only he knew where that saying came from?)

"So...Dan...have enough of staring at those pretty little liars? You know I have to meet up with my contact in ten minutes, don't you?" the sly young woman dressed mostly in black, with Gucci sunglasses shading most of her face as she lounged in a chair in the piazza supposedly sunning her pale skin, asked.

"Yes...I know. Hm...pretty little liars, more like pretty little whores...because how I see them. They seem so perfect on the outside...but on the inside they're just whores, whores, whores. Every one of them." he growled under his breath, still staring down the young women.

"Ooh Mr Judgmental now! And here I'd thought you'd like that in a girl...her whorish side...or is that just me?" she mused.

"Well..." he sighed.

"Hm...I'll let you keep your thoughts to yourself. Though I think you're just miffed because you lost Serena Vanderwoodsen and you couldn't make Blair Waldorf come...which is hilarious!" she chuckled.

"Well...obviously something must be wrong with her. I have no idea what Chuck Bass sees in her...because obviously whatever libido they have together must be all him. Too bad I can't have some of it..." he sighed his voice trailing off.

"Some of it? Oh do you really want to fuck Chuck Bass? I'm surprised...though perhaps I shouldn't be. You know I could arrange something, if you want." she laughed wickedly.

"No that's not what I meant, Georgina, I...oh never mind you wouldn't understand." he sighed.

"Perhaps not...but I do know that Chuck is irresistible and has quite the reputation...though you do know I taught him everything he knows because...I was his first!" she saucily replied.

"You were?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes...I was. Hm...well since arranging something involving Chuck Bass would include permission from my parole officer and an edict from Blair Waldorf...even though she does still owe me...I think for you I have a simpler option than a full out orgy...which is what sex involving both of those two would entail, trust me...even though you think she's a wet blanket in bed...ha ha ha...And even though you had that threesome with that actress and your former best friend Vanessa Abrams...I wonder whatever happened to her?..." she pondered aloud.

"You know about that?" he asked, surprised.

"Indeed, it was on Gossip Girl wasn't it?" she asked, then went on "Anyway, sex with Philip has been boring lately...so maybe you are just what we need. Ah two men to dominate is always better than one! And if the idea of a cat-of-nine-tails is a bit too much for you, you can always sit back, babysit Milo, and watch Philip and I. Perhaps you'll even learn something." she added with a wink.

"Seriously, Georgina...I..." he stammered.

"Oh come on Danny boy don't be scared...Anyway enough. My contact awaits...so come on..." she sighed, pulling on his arm as she rose and begun to slink away.

"All right Georgina...lead the way." he sighed, slightly bemused at Georgina's adventures.

xoxoxo

Meanwhile, back at the hotel suite in Monte Carlo, Chuck and Blair had just finished their latest tumble, which was just the next in a very long line. Actually, they'd christened nearly every surface inside and outside of their room in the two weeks since they'd reunited and did what they did. Looking down at their hands, neither could still believe they'd done what they'd done, but their hands bore witness to the decision. After winning and losing and winning a few hands in that infamous table game, a joyous, buoyant, duo drunk on love, happiness, and a tad too much champagne, had decided to take the plunge and lock their relationship down for good.

Glancing down at the sparkler on her hand, Blair realized she could call herself 'Mrs Charles Bass' if she wanted to, because that's what she was, technically and legally, although for business and their parents sake, she was still Blair Waldorf to the general public. Though Blair Bass did have a nice ring to it...but she was adamant that no on call her 'BB' because that sounded like some housewife's name from the 1950s or something, which was not what what she was.

"So Mrs Bass...what are your plans for the day? More of the same...because you know that I'm always up to the task...or do you have something else in mind?" Chuck mused seductively, giving her a hint of what he'd like to do that day.

"Mm...well...while I'd rather spend all day in bed with you..performing our own version of gymnastics...let's say...My mother's been asking me questions about the supposed 'trip to Milan' to look for new designing talent and inspiration that I claimed I was on. She wants to see results and hopes I'm not just frittering my life away on some silly scheme." she sighed.

"As if you're capable of that..." Chuck teased as he tried to kiss her.

"Chuck..." she sarcastically moaned, though it was all in good fun.

"Mm...well speaking on parents and companies...now that we worked together to get some of my money back, I'm going to challenge my father for at least a piece of Bass Industries again, which at first means smoothing the way. Jack's informed me that Bart is constructing a new hotel in Dubai, so I've decided to intercept him there and see how it goes." he replied.

"Oh that sounds good...but what about us? You know how he felt about me the last time I was around." she replied.

"Yes I know...the bastard..." he said, gritting his teeth. "Nonetheless, that's why we must keep 'us' a secret for the time being...at least from him. If you want to tell your parents, its up to you. Just be discretionary. It'll only be for a few months and then its back to the city."

"A few months? How can we go without seeing each other for a few months...especially now that we're married?!" she chastised him.

"Ah...I know what you mean. Well maybe I'll be able to get away from Dubai every week for a few days..." he mused.

"Or I could come visit you...covertly of course..." she added.

"Yes...indeed that might work...a secret affair indeed..." he pondered, then added "Though first...let's resume our favorite pass time...working on another member to the Bass family tree..." he seductively added as he enveloped her in another sexy embrace.

Blair enthusiastically jumped into his embrace, literally pouncing on her sexy husband...and though she agreed with his idea...the thought of another baby made her heart ache just a little and think _'Too soon, too soon..'_ though hopefully that'd be an issue they'd only have to deal with if it came to that.

xoxoxoxo

Time passed quickly enough for everyone because everyone stayed busy with work, rehab, and whatever other adventures life presented them. Chuck was able to convince Bart that he was on the straight and narrow, as far as that went with Bass men, as he worked with Bart and his partner Amira and her brother Abed in the construction of the next luxury hotel under the Bass Industries umbrella of power, this time in Dubai. Bart was seemingly convinced that Chuck was moving on from his irresponsible ways, which in his mind included not only substance abuse, but also flighty young women like Blair Waldorf. He'd once thought she would be a good match for his son Charles because she'd seemed like a responsible young woman with a plan for her future, and she had been at first, but her actions within the past year had him in doubt because her flightiness reminded him too much of his ex-wife Evelyn, who insisted on calling herself Elizabeth now. Still Bart did have to question Chuck's actions even now, because despite sticking with the Dubai project, his son suddenly had these unexplained trips to Europe for a day or two nearly every week. With that schedule, he wondered if Chuck had a mistress or something over in Europe? If so, he hoped she wouldn't make Chuck lose his focus again like his past relationships did.

Life for Blair moved on faster that summer than she thought possible. Her position as the CEO of Waldorf Designs proved to be more time consuming than she'd initially thought it would be. It was far more than just barking orders at her staff and parading around giving underlings and interns what for, and throw lavish parties, like her mother seemed to do. No the real job came in directing the designers, coordinating schedules, holding meetings, attending meetings, and trying to market the business to potential buyers and sellers. Stores, boutiques, websites, branding, marketing, designing, and making sure everything flowed as scheduled, it was indeed quite the job. Not only did she realize that without her mother, Eleanor Waldof, they lost their main designer, but also she needed a personal assistant, like her mother once had in Laurel, so hiring calls for top designers and personal assistants were posted with mixed results. Plus Blair soon realized that Paris was nice, but it was no New York City, so she had to find people willing to relocate to New York...and if not, she'd just hire her old friends and minions from Columbia and NYU. Surely they would be obediant enough to do everything her way.

Blair also relished her visits with Chuck, as far between as they were. This undercover business wasn't easy and especially seemed to take a toll on her health. So much so that her mother noticed and suggested she take a trip to the French countryside to visit Harold and Roman at her chateau. The vacation was wonderful, although she wished that Chuck could be there with her more than he could, and she was a little disheartened when Chuck suddenly told her that the business with Dubai and elsewhere was becoming so heavy that he wouldn't be able to visit her as much as he liked. Blair took it in stride, but was still disappointed that he couldn't be there with her, and neither could Serena. Oh yes she still worried about her friend, even if they were estranged, and was even more concerned when her efforts to contact her went unanswered. Still, not having Chuck around and worrying about a missing Serena weren't her only concerns while resting in her father's chateau, because it as there that she discovered that Chuck's wishes might be coming true. Another member was going to be added to the Bass family tree in a few more months, whether she was ready or not. Yet another surprise in her secret marriage to Chuck Bass.

While Blair was in France and Chuck was in Dubai, another dubious duo were being ushered into a lavish estate in the Italian countryside to meet with some people the young woman had connections with. People who she said was part of their family.

"So...you wanted to meet with me...Georgina?" the sly old Italian gentleman asked as he blew smoke rings from his cigar.

"Yes, uncle Rubio...I have your fifty thousand...but first the information I wanted...for my friend here." Georgina replied slyly herself.

"Friend or lover? As I see it, he looks to be not much of a lover...though perhaps I should be the judge of that" a sly Italian woman replied, eyeing Dan like a piece of meat and finding him slightly wanting. Even her poodle, which was dyed purple, seemed to judge him as she stared too.

"Well if you want to aunt Gina, be my guest...perhaps you can teach him a thing or two." Georgina chuckled. "Anyway, uncle Rubio, business...no information...no money." she bargained.

"Yes...well as much as I want your money...I have a proposition for you that could gain you even more. Give this to my cousin Nunzio back in the States. He'll be catering a wedding in Upstate New York on the 28th of August. Do it and it will snatch you a quarter of the take...and perhaps information about that girl you are seeking." he slyly replied.

"Serena? You know something about Serena?" Dan interrupted as the rest of their hosts just stared.

"Yes...perhaps we do...but first do the job...then you will know." their hosts replied as they went on to converse with Georgina mostly in Italian.

As they were escorted out of the estate, Dan slyly whispered to Georgina "When you said you were visting your family...I didn't know you meant 'the family' "

"Ah...Humphrey, don't be naive. When hanging with me, you should know better than that..." she replied.

xoxoxoxo

Finally, or so it seemed, the end of August arrived, and with it the return of several people to New York city. Blair returned to get an early start on the Fall and Winter fashion campaigns, even if the temperatures were still horribly high. Chuck returned because his business in Dubai was finished and he wanted to get started setting things up for his life together with Blair, inform his best friend, Nate, about his news, and to intercept his contact who was supposed to have information about his long lost sister, Serena, who was also his wife's best friend. (To him, only Serena was worthy of that title...beyond himself to his own degree. Anyone else beyond that was sorely mistaken. ) And the duo of Dan and Georgina returned with their covert mission in mind...along with settling back into the city as the writer he was and the debutante wife and mother that she was.

Nate had just come home to the Empire penthouse for lunch, when he heard a noise and noticed that his friend and flat mate was home.

"Chuck...man you're back from Dubai or France or wherever! Ha they didn't try to detain you in Monaco did they?" Nate good naturedly teased.

"No...nothing like that. I won some money, spent some money, reconciled with my father, and more." Chuck replied as he sorted through some things in his bedroom.

"Sounds good. Oh did you run into Blair? I heard she was with her mom in Paris or something...for business...but I know how you two are..." Nate mused inquiringly.

"Well...to answer that question...yes I ran into Blair...or more precisely she ran into me...and the rest is history." Chuck slyly replied as he pulled a document out of his pocket and slid it across the table.

Picking it up, Nate quickly scanned it before he exclaimed "Woah...man...is this what I think it is? Did you and Blair...get married? Is it legal?"

"Yes...its legal...and yes Nathaniel, you're looking at a married man now. Yes I married Blair Waldorf." he smugly replied, though slightly embarassed.

"Don't you mean Blair Grimaldi?" Nate joked, as Chuck shot him a scowl that was definitely lethal. "Sorry man...bad joke. So congratulations...does that mean Blair's moving in with us?" he apologized as his friend regained his composure.

"At the moment the relationship is secret mainly because of my father's disapproval, however we intend to reveal ourselves when the moment is right. As far as living situations...that's still being sorted out." Chuck replied.

"All right I'll keep your secret. And speaking of secrets...you know how we've been wondering about Serena...well rumor has it that she's been laying low at a rehab facility upstate...someplace that's sorta off the grid...I believe its called Spence House and was created by some finance guru who got into drug rehab after his cousin almost OD'd. Anyway apparently this cousin of his is getting married...and low and behold Serena's in the wedding...And the wedding is this evening. The info was all over The Spectator." Nate replied.

"Ah...intriguing information! Serena in a public place...I will have to tell Blair. Maybe we can get there if we leave soon." Chuck pondered as he hit Blair's number on speed dial.

"You're gonna wedding crash? Roadtrip, man! Can I come along? You know if you're gonna wedding crash, you've gotta have a wing-man." Nate enthusiastically added.

"All right. Maybe you can be our chaperone...to make sure Blair and I don't get ahead of ourselves...unless you wanna watch?" Chuck teased.

"Whatever man. I'll certainly keep an eye on you two..." Nate laughed as they went on.

Blair was just settling in at her family's penthouse. Chuck had texted her to let her know that he'd obtained information about Serena and that they'd be able to intercept her, if she get ready to leave as soon as he arrived. So she prepared herself and was just descending the stairs, when she spotted an impeccably dressed, dark haired young man exit the elevator, practically right on schedule.

Descending the stairs elegantly, she couldn't help herself but to rush to him once she reached the bottom, enveloping him in a slightly uncharacteristic embrace.

"Oh Chuck...you're here! I missed you.." she sighed, giving him a kiss as she greeted him.

"Ha ha...good to hear it. And I missed you too...and I love you..." he warmly greeted her, embracing her back as well, in a greeting reminiscent of when they'd made up right after high school graduation.

"Ha ha...say it again..." she teased.

"I love you darling, don't you forget it." he chuckled seductively.

"Mm..that never gets old. I love you too Chuck. Truly I do...don't you forget that." she kissed him back, then pulled back and suggested "And to prove that to you...we can always go up to my room and have a proper greeting...or don't we have time?" she pouted slightly.

"Well..." Chuck started to reply but was soon interrupted.

"Wow you two that's quite the greeting! Do you have anything left over for me, Blair?" a male voice interrupted good naturedly teasing them.

"Oh Nate...you're here! It's good to see you too. Quite the timing! Did you hear the news about Serena, too?" Blair nervously laughed, slightly embarrassed that her long time friend and former boyfriend had been privy to her open PDA with Chuck. Especially since she knew that Chuck had wanted to keep their relationship a secret, and Nate ran a tabloid magazine.

"Yes and I wanted to help. If Serena is in trouble again, I want to help her too...so I'm coming along." he replied.

"You are? Do you know about Chuck and I being...together?" she asked sheepishly.

Ha ha, yeah I know. And congratulations you two...I knew you'd reunite sooner or later." he jovially congratulated them.

"Thanks. All right, well I don't know if the Bass Helicopter can seat more than three people.." she pondered aloud, until Chuck coughed to interrupt her.

"Ahem...we're not taking the Bass copter. Bart's still..." he drawled.

"Being a basstard. All right then, how pray tell are we going to get there?" she asked.

"Road trip man!" Nate replied.

"Road trip?" Blair cautiously replied, remembering another road trip she'd gone on with someone else...which had eventually led to a relationship that even now had her wondering at what she'd been thinking the whole time.

"We're traveling in my limousine. Arthur is driving us and I've also included your favorite macarons from Pierre Hermes and Cludamel '95. All your favorites." Chuck replied, easing her tensions a bit.

"Ah now that is what I call a road trip! Well what are we waiting for, then? Let's depart!" Blair brightened, as she took Chuck's hand and they entered the elevator, descending it to the car that was waiting for them just outside the front door of her building.

xoxoxoxo

In another part of New York, Brooklyn to be precise, a slender young man with a mop of dark hair, exited an industrial building-turned-middle class housing, right behind a young woman with dark hair, a tank top and skinny jeans. She led him to a vehicle parked curbside with the motor running, which he momentarily questioned before entering.

"A minivan, Georgina? I thought you said you had a get away car standing ready for us." he skeptically asked as he climbed in and sat on a captain's chair that was right next to a mop-headed toddler with curly dark hair too, who stared at him for a moment before blowing a raspberry at him. Staring at he little boy, Dan suddenly remembered how, after at first believing Milo as his & witnessing his birth, Georgina had eventually admitted that the child's father had been a Russian mobster...however to look at the kid with his dark, curly hair and so on, he had to wonder if Georgina had told the truth about the child's paternity in the end or not?

"Well...Philip had to take Milo for a doctor's appointment...and we were running a little late...so he volunteered to be our get away driver on our little adventure...Anyway we only have until five this evening to intercept our contact so this is the best I could do." Georgina replied.

"What about your son? Wouldn't he get in the way?"

"He won't...Phil will watch him...while we're busy playing Wedding Crashers. Which as you know is my favorite game to play. And by the way...I did hear that Serena might be there and part of the wedding party...but I wonder what role she'll be? Could it be the bride? Ha if she is...maybe you can have bigger balls than Chuck had at Blair's disaster of a wedding to Louis and actually interrupt the wedding and admit your true self...because we all know you still love Serena deep down inside and would shit cats and dogs to actually see her marry someone else." Georgina baited him, as Milo suddenly parroted her saying "Shit cats-n-dogz, Shit catz-n-dogz..." while kicking his feet against the car seat.

"Like hell I would..." he seethed, before remembering himself. "Uh...sorry. Uh Georgina do you know your son swears like a sailor?"

"Yes..he has quite the vocabulary, wouldn't you say?" she replied as Philip interrupted her and added more. "He can even recite the alphabet in English and Russian...and loves to pretend to write on his magna-doodle board. Quite the child protegy!"

"...But he needs to socialize more...because sometimes he seems like such a lonely boy..." Georgina teased, causing Dan to feel slightly uncomfortable and study the toddler beside him to see if Milo really was a mini-me of himself.

"But enough about Milo...we should focus on accessing our target...and for your sake perhaps, rescuing Serena from her Dr Jeckyll-like fiance..." Georgina mused aloud.

"Dr Jeckyll-like? You mean he turns into a monster?" Dan asked suddenly feeling protective of Serena.

"Hm...maybe not himself...but I heard that he pumps the patients at his rehab client so full of drugs to 'alter their behavior' that it makes them become his unwilling test subjects...just so he could get more grant money to continue his...experiments. And from what I've heard he's not even licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York." Georgina mused again, further baiting Dan about Serena potential welfare.

"The monster! He must be stopped...and I'm just he man to do it!" Dan declared under his breath, as Georgina slyly chuckled at Dan's inherent desire to always play the hero.

xoxoxoxo

Traveling in the limousine, Blair, Chuck, and Nate chatted about how they were going to find Serena and get her the help she needed, whether it involved crashing Serena's new boyfriend's cousin's wedding or not...or if they could think of another scheme...as well as filling each other in on their summer activities around the globe, as they sipped their champagne and Blair ate her macarons.

Blair took a bit of a nap, snuggled against Chuck the way she was in the car...but when she eventually woke up, after having a dream based on a memory of her honeymoon with Chuck...she was suddenly feeling very horny indeed. And with Chuck right there beside her in the limo, in his sexy checked sport coat, he was so hard to resist. And she knew he couldn't resist her...so playing on his known weeknesses and occasional lack of stamina...Blair began to stroke his thigh and his ass, until she could feel his body begin to react.

"Blair...what are you doing? You know Nate's here..." he slyly replied, trying to squeeze her ass as well.

"I know...but I have the perfect solution...if I have you hot and bothered..." she mused as she moved away from him and drew out a copy of a newspaper she'd had folded in her purse.

"Ha ha...mmm...I love you for your resourcefulness..." he mused as he opened the newspaper across his lap and began to read it, as Blair got to work on Chuck, undoing his slacks as he leaned back to relax and make her job easier.

It was a moment later that Nate, lost in his thoughts, glanced their way and made an observation "The Wall Street Journal, Chuck? You actually read The Wall Street Journal in hard copy?"

"Well of course, Nathaniel...I always want to know what's ahead on Wall Street?" he replied surprisingly cooly.

"How's the market these days? Any ups and downs?" Nate asked.

"Well much of the market has it's ups and downs...Although from the look of it, Bass...st-ock seems to be on the rise..." Chuck mused cooly, yet slyly as he glanced down at Blair's naughty little hands.

"Seriously?" Nate skeptically asked.

"Yes...its certainly on the rise...and about ready to explode...all over the market..." Chuck mused through slightly gritted teeth.

"Really? Blair...is that true?" Nate asked enthusiastically.

"Well from where I see it...its true." she mused, being sure to give Chuck a real good stroke with her hand, causing him to whimper and growl a little as she finished him off...as the Bass 'stock' did start to explode a little on the market quite literally.

"Wow I'll have to call my broker! I'm getting insider trading secrets from the source..." Nate mused as he went to call his stock broker on the phone.

"Uh...Nate I think I'd be careful before you invest just yet..." Chuck and Blair tried to warn him, but before they could continue, Arthur interrupted them over the intercom.

"Mr Bass, I apologize for the interruption...but we are running low on fuel so I need to stop at the next service station."

"Thank you Arthur for informing us." Chuck replied, as Blair briefly criticized the driver for miscalculating the fuel for the limo, but Chuck assured her it would only take a moment, then they'd be on their way...and that perhaps the could use their extra time constructively.

As the limo was driving through the small town in New York State, making their way to the town's main service station and convenience store, a nondescript minivan and its passengers were just getting ready to leave. They'd stopped to refuel, use the restroom, get snacks, and so forth. They tried taking Milo to the restroom, but as with most two year olds, he was a bit obstinate and refused to try, instead begging for a Slurpee and a Sno Ball, which they bought him.

This motley crew of travelers were just getting ready to leave, as Dan finished pumping the gas into the van, when suddenly he looked up and exclaimed "A limo? What the heck...Did Chuck Bass follow us all the way here? What are he, Blair, and Nate gonna enact a Serena intervention? Not if I can help it!"

"You might be right Dan...it could be Chuck and Blair...or it could be a spy from Nunzio's rival's family sent to make sure we don't do our job! Either way...we're not sticking around to find out!" Georgina shouted as Philip started up the minivan, peeling out of there just as Dan hopped in and Milo started to wail "I hafta go potty!"

The Bass limo pulled into the convenience store just as the minivan peeled rubber out of the parking lot, nearly taking the gas pump with it, and causing an attendant or cashier run out because they just had a pump-and-no-pay of about fifty dollars in gasoline.

"Well I wonder what made that van peel out of here like a bat outta hell? Is the food that bad?" Nate pondered as he watched the van leave.

"Who knows? Unless they knew Chuck Bass was in town and they went to alert the media?" Chuck mused teasingly egotistical.

"Ha ha only you would think that." Blair sighed, teasingly sarcastic as she walked into the establishment behind the guys, commenting as she went. "So this a suburban convenience store? Stop and Sip? How...quaint.." she said as she eyed the place with more than a little disdain.

"Yes...apparently it is...and I spot just what I need. Care to join me Blair?" Chuck replied as he eyed he restroom.

"Of course..." Blair slyly whispered back, as she then piped up to Nate "Oh don't mind us, Nate. Chuck...needs my...assistance...so we'll be back in a minute..." as she followed Chuck into the restroom.

Once they sneaked into the restroom, Chuck and Blair got down to business, kissing and slipping past clothing barriers to get to the heart of the matter indeed. Doing it in a convenience store restroom using the sink and the handicap bar was a bit outside of the norm, but it certainly did the job and was almost as good as the time they'd had a quickie on the Waldorf family piano, if they thought about it.

Afterwards, they both slippd discretely out of the restroom and met up with Nate who had a whole pile of purchases on the counter, as he finished paying for them.

"Nathaniel Archibald, what pray tell is all of this?" Blair chided him in her best stern mother voice, which surprised even her.

"Can you believe all of this great stuff I got here for only fifteen dollars! Chips, pork rinds, hot dogs, mini donuts, a Slurpee for each of us, and these...since based on the sounds you two made in the restroom, it sounded like you needed them." he joked, handing out the items.

"Trojans...extra large, ribbed for her pleasure? Heh...that's the right size, isn't it Blair?" Chuck mused, showing her the box.

"Yes...though how did he know? Though maybe I don't want to know...Anyway I can't believe you heard us from here and bought condoms...and all of this junk food?" Blair said as she stared at the pork rinds in a mixture of disgust and odd desire.

"Mm...I don't think I've had a Slurpee since I was ten years old and you convinced me to go to that bodega where we snitched those Penthouse magazines." Chuck remembered.

"Oh yeah I remember now...ha ha fun times!" Nate laughed.

"This drink isn't bad...though it could use a splash of gin and the hotdog some Grey Poupon...don't you think?" Chuck commented as he sipped the Slurpee and took a bite out of the hotdog.

"Oh yeah I forgot the mustard." Nate commented.

"No problem." Chuck replied to Nate as he walked up to the counter and asked the cashier girl in his best suave, Chuck Bass voice "Pardon me...do you have any Grey Poupon?"

"Chuck I can't believe you're eating a hotdog in public! I can just see the headline on Gossip Girl now '_Spotted: Chuck Bass slumming it by eating a convenience store hotdog and pork rinds...and auditioning for a Grey Poupon commercial.'_ We'll be the laughing stock of the Upper East Side! Plus you know they give you gas...and aren't we going to a wedding? Seriously!" Blair huffed a she took a sip from her Slurpee and sighed "Yeah his isn't bad...but it could use some gin because otherwise its like a virgin Cosmo...if there ever was such a thing." as she led the guys out of the Stop & Sip and back into the limousine. Once in the limousine Chuck & Blair added a bit of dijon mustard to the remainder of their hotdogs, then they and Nate each added a splash of gin to their Slurpees from Chuck's flask, as the limo left the convenience store and they went on their way to the wedding.

xoxoxo

It was only a few minutes later when the Bass limousine pulled into the long driveway of the estate where the'd been informed that the wedding was taking place. Arriving in a limousine nearly guaranteed them access into the wedding with no questions asked. Once they arrived, however, Blair suddenly realized that drinking her Slurpee, along with her hidden condition, had cased her to have to go to the restroom for real this time, so she told the guys to save her a seat while she went to take care of business of a more personal nature.

The two guys walked toward the wedding, which was about to begin such that many of the guests were already seated, when they encountered a rather exuberant little fellow manning the guest book and serving as an impromptu matre'd of sorts.

Noticing the two guys he exclaimed "Welcome to the wedding! Who's side are you on? The groom..or the groom?"

"Huh? We're here to see Serena..." Nate replied, rather confused.

"Spence...we're on the Spence side..." Chuck replied, glancing around the wedding and scoping out the situation.

"Oh excellent! Its just on the right. I do say you two do make a lovely couple...I'd escort you in myself if I could...but duty calls." the guy laughed as he handed them a program of he event as Nate and Chuck took their seats.

"Lovely couple? Ha did that dude think we're.." Nate chuckled, still a bit perplexed.

"Yes...though I can see why. Apparently this wedding wasn't for Serena after all.." Chuck replied as his motioned for Nate to look at the program.

Eventually Blair finished her restroom break and sneaked back toward the ceremony, just in time to spot Chuck and Nate's position in the audience and squeeze into the seat they saved just for her, which from her point of view was the chair right between Chuck and Nate, which caused Chuck to have to move onto the seat he'd originally reserved for Blair.

"So did I miss anything good? I didn't hear anything either, except for several cater waiters who were arguing amongst themselves." she sighed haughtily.

"Well apparently, if Serena is in this wedding, she obviously isn't the bride." Chuck drawled as he showed her the program.

"Oh..okay...its Steve's cousin...and his boyfriend...Hm...I'm surprised my father and Roman haven't done this yet? I'll have to suggest it.." she whispered, until the ceremony started.

In the meantime, two undercover 'catering staff' were just finishing their 'job' handing the package to Nunzio's 'cousin' who was the head of the business. They were about ready to leave, when the one waiter suddenly decided to pull away for his own investigation.

"Dan where are you going?" Georgina gasped incredulously.

"Sorry Georgina, I'm just going to see if Serena's going to make the biggest mistake of her life...and I'm going to stop it." he exclaimed as he marched over toward the ceremony location.

"All right, go make a fool of yourself Dan Humphrey..while I catch it all on film. And this time no one's stealing my camera!" Georgina chuckled wickedly as she pulled out her camera and began to film.

The wedding had just gotten to the point where the officiant said "If there is anyone who can find just cause to impede this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.." when suddenly a casually dressed young man cam marching up the aisle, saying "I object! I..."

Gasps from the crowd were heard, as well as from one of the grooms. "Ah...I knew it! And who is this?"

"Dan? What are you doing here?" Serena suddenly gasped in surprise.

"Oh 'Dan'? Is it? Is 'Dan' why you suddenly had to go to San Francisco for your 'business trip'?" the one groom huffed and began to walk out.

"No...He's cute..but I don't even know him!" the other groom replied, sheepishly going after him...though figuratively ending the wedding ceremony for the moment, causing the guests to disperse to the reception, which was still ready to go despite the ceremony's abrupt end.

Chuck and Blair mingled with the guests for awhile, snacking, chatting, and so on, as they bided their time waiting to talk to Serena. Nate did likewise, though getting flirtatious advances from a variety of people, rebuffing some and encouraging others, soon momentarily forgetting about Serena.

Serena herself was whisked away to he buffet table by her well meaning boyfriend, Steve, who tried to keep her focused so that she wouldn't give into temptation and drink too much. Still, drinking a glass of champagne and eating a piece of cake, Serena was still surprised by the inevitable when she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Dan Humphrey scowling at her.

"Dan what do you want? Why did you wreck Steve's cousin's wedding with an 'I object!'? Did you think I was getting married?" she asked upset, but still slightly bemused.

"Why yes.." he stammered.

"Oh I didn't know you still cared...especially after the way you kicked me out of your life!" she growled.

"Oh well...I'm sorry about that...but I'm not sorry about ruining that wedding because I thought you were getting married...and I knew you shouldn't marry him because he's dangerous..." Dan replied.

"Dangerous?" she skeptically replied.

"Yes...I discovered that he's like a mad scientist...filling you with psychotropic drugs that mess with your subconscious and so he can use you as his slave...So I just wanted to save you from turning into his own Harley Quinn." Dan exclaimed, his eyes bugging out a little as his imagination went wild.

"He's dangerous? From where I stand...YOU are the one who looks more like the Joker. Do you know that for a split second when I saw the photo of that guy from Colorado...I'd feared it was you, Dan? And now you're here accusing my boyfriend of being a 'mad scientist'? To me, you're the crazy one. You have no reason to find fault with Steve Spence. He was there for me when you weren't, when you were back in Brooklyn being so judgmental of me and my friends. No you're the one acting crazy." Serena's exclaimed.

"At least I'm not the one with daddy issues." he smugly replied, to which received a resounding slap from Serena, who then went off with her boyfriend, leaving Dan to stew in his own juices and think about some of the things he said...though he still felt he was in the right.

xoxoxoxo

When Serena left with Steve, though, he quickly whisked them both away from the remainder of the wedding reception, citing concern for Serena's well being. Still doing that made it so that none of her other friends were able to talk to her in the end. Blair was a bit upset over the fact that they'd gone all that way and still had been unable to talk to Serena after all. Nate found a ride back to the city with someone else he'd met at the wedding reception, so in the end, Chuck and Blair had the limo all to themselves for the ride back to the city. On their way back, Blair sighed and unloaded all of her concern over Serena onto Chuck, hoping he could handle it.

"Oh Chuck...I can't believe Serena just left like that, without talking to any of us. What Dan did was embarrassing but hilarious, especially since he'd obviously thought it was S getting married...and was certainly surprised in the end." she chuckled and sighed. "Ah...I can't believe what a mess life is right now! I'm estranged from S, I probably lost my friendship with Dan...though whatever I saw in him, beyond being someone to chat with, I do not know. Your father is alive...but now you're estranged from him. And you're fighting for control or at least a piece of Bass Industries again...so we have to be secret...although I'd love to be able to come out with our love just as easily as those guys who's wedding we attended did. Being at that wedding now makes me wish we could have had a big wedding like that too. Or that I had saved my big wedding ceremony for you...and not Louis." Blair sighed, lying her head against Chuck's shoulder, morosely as they stroked each other's hands.

"Mm...well you know Rome wasn't built in a day..." he commented, to which she scowled, and he chuckled and continued. "Wrong metaphor, aye? Well let's just say that these things take time. All of it, so don't feel bad that we couldn't see Serena today, because you can try again tomorrow. Nonetheless I can think of a few things we can do in the meantime...we are in the limo..." he drawled seductively.

"True...and limos are sacred..." she took the hint as she maneuvered her face to look into his seductive, dark eyes, leaning in for a kiss. "...So I want you to fuck me Chuck..." she purred, just like the first time.

And just like that first time, he asked "Are you sure?" as she answered him with a forth coming kiss...and suddenly it was sex in the limo all over again. Blair anxiously helping him unbutton his slacks as he rucked up her skirts and slid upon his lap, mutually touching and petting each other as they kissed...and rode each other ferociously as they rode in the limo that sailed down the highway toward the city, under a star dappled night sky.

When they arrived back, they stopped at the building where the Waldorf penthouse was located, Blair naturally thinking that Chuck would follow her, however, he declined to, citing business he had to take care of back at the Empire Hotel that night, let alone the fact that he had an eight o'clock meeting at the Empire the next morning, so it was in his best interest to spend the night there. Blair was reluctant to see her young husband spend the night away from her bed, but she understood that for the good of his relationship with his father it had to be so...at least for the time being.

Chuck rode on back to the hotel suite he'd considered his home for the past three years, intent on relaxing. When he arrived, he realized Amira was already there, apparently ready to get down to the business they had together. He poured her a drink, then thought they'd get to talking about the mutual scheme they were working on against his father Bart Bass...however instead of that right away, Amira handed him an envelope she'd claimed Bart had given him to give to her. In it was a letter inexplicably stating that he and Nate were being evicted from the Penthouse Suite at the Empire Hotel so that it could be used by paying customers and dignitaries. Obviously it was going to be a short night and tomorrow was definitely going to be quite the day.


	2. Chapter 2 High Infidelity

High Infidelity

The next morning Chuck went to the business meeting with his father and the other shareholders of Bass Industries and it was definitely a heated meeting indeed.

"What was the meaning of this?" Chuck scowled, slapping the letter down in front of his father, who was sitting at the head of the table in the boardroom.

"Oh...yes this. Well it has come to my attention that you and your friend Nate Archibald have been residing in the choice suite at the Empire Hotel rent free for the past several months...despite the fact that you are no longer the CEO of Bass Industries and because of that...no longer the owner the Empire Hotel."

"What?! I bought thought hotel...or paid the down payment with my inheritance after you...'died'..." Chuck growled.

"Well must I remind you of the nefarious scheme Jack and your mother pulled on you? The one which had both you and Blair agreeing to use her fidelity as a bargaining chip? Or the fact that right afterwards you disappeared for the summer and Bass Industries had to take over the mortgage for several months? And even if you saw a turn around in 2011 & 12...there was still the fact that you refinanced the mortgage on the Empire again to pay for the 'Charles Hotel' which you were going to build in Park Slope, then abandoned. Then here is the matter of Blair's royal dowry, which I needn't remind you of." Bart mused as he reminded him of his financial foibles.

"That's why..." he continued. "You don't deserve to live in the opulence of a hotel suite off of my dime anymore. So no more Empire Suite for you. If you want to live someplace elegant you have to find the means to pay for it yourself...just like I did at your age. Sure I made my first million before I was twenty one, however I did it with my own blood and sweat. I bought my first building, paid to have it remodeled, and lived there myself in the most spartan accommodations available, until the building started paying for itself in rental tenants." he smugly continued.

"So what do you expect me to do? Live on the street?" Chuck sarcastically replied, his eyes glinting angrily at his father.

"Oh I'm sure you can think of something, you're a resourceful young man. You did well for yourself for awhile after my 'unfortunate demise' and you were doing well with the project in Dubai, so I'm sure you know what to do now." Bart replied, slightly smirking as he measured his son's reaction.

"All right...then if you want me to prove my worth in your eyes, I'll prove it. You can count on it." Chuck replied staring intimidatingly at his father before he walked out the door to get on with the rest of his day.

xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile in another area of New York, Blair Waldorf (Bass) was just entering the offices of Eleanor Waldorf Designs...now abbreviated to just Waldorf Designs. Since taking on the role of CEO, Blair decided to have the offices and studio remodeled to her interior decorating tastes & preferences, which in the end was turning into more of a mess than she'd anticipated. The current employees' complaints being the main evidence to the fact that it was an issue. Fortunately, the interior decorating in her personal office was finished, so it was to there where she headed first to start her day.

"Blair did you want this dress in green or yellow?" "What color do you want the drapes? The paint? Your floor coverings in the work room?" her assistants assailed her with a barrage of questions as she made her way through the office.

"A green...yellow...purple...rose...and puce." she babbled as she made a beeline to her office and settled inside.

"All right if that's what you want." the assistant said as she left.

"Yes its fine...go on.." she sighed, shooing them away. Sitting at her desk, Blair tried to deal with her various work issues and tried to get things done and although some things went well, others became a bit of an addlepated mess, reminiscent of her brief tenure at W magazine. She suspected that her mind was a mess partially because of her hidden condition that she still had to tell Chuck about, and to be honest didn't even want to think about, as she got down to work.

It was around mid- morning, just before the time for her first break, when Blair was finishing some of her paperwork and was daydreaming about curling up in the wingback chair in the corner of her office to sip a cup of herbal tea from her Keurig machine and reading a trashy romance novel so as to get inspiration for her night time adventures with Chuck. (Although nine times out of ten, anything that she and Chuck did was better than a romance novel...especially ones written by E. L. James.)

Blair's pondering was soon interrupted by her current personal assistant who opened the door and announced in a slightly unsure voice "Ms Waldorf you have a visitor to see you...a Mr Bass..." as Chuck barged right in around the secretary as Blair said "Chuck...I was just thinking of you...You're a bit early for lunch..."

"Blair I need to talk to you in private..." he said, his eyes filled with angry intensity.

"All right, thank you, Julia, hold any of my in-coming calls for half an hour...while Mr Bass and I have a discussion.." Blair said as she dismissed her secretary and closed the door, turning then to Chuck.

"So what did you actually come here to talk...or..." she asked, prepared for anything when it came to Chuck Bass.

"Mm..." Chuck growled as he took her in his arms intent on saving the talking for later, as he crushed their lips together in a passionate kiss that drew all of his passion and frustration to the surface and unleashed it in his most favorite way. Pushing her back onto her desk he began tearing at her skirt and stockings, and she wrestled with the closures of his slacks, much like the time they'd had sex on top of the piano. Fortunately the desk was a much better height, that when he had her ready, legs wrapped around his waist and feminine core opened right for him, and she had pulled him out into her naughty little hands again, he was able to slide right in. Thrusting in time after time, Chuck seemed to pour all of his emotions and physicality into her...and Blair readily accepted it, milking his body with her own and begging for more, until they had both brought each other to a heady oblivion. He finally released himself into her with a mighty roar as she moaned happily in response. Seemingly spent, he didn't realize he was almost entirely atop the desk himself, as he maneuvered them so that they could settle into the main office chair behind her desk, with her still on his lap, ready to ride him if she felt like another round.

"Mm...that was fun...but do you want to go again?" Blair mused, rocking herself against him, kissing his neck and getting her pleasure, her sensual muscles tightening around him, causing him to groan and begin to harden again.

"Yes...but I need to regain my stamina first.." he nonchalantly teased verbally and physically as he reached down to toy with her down where their bodies were still united.

"Hmm...you're never one to complain from lack of stamina. "Especially you." she said as she rode him a bit. "Is something on your mind?" she said as she stroked his hair.

"Yes...but I don't know if I wanna talk about it..." he sighed, thrusting his hips in a languid motion that seemed to flow through his whole body and was entirely distinctive of Chuck Bass.

They continued with it a few moments more, until Blair collapsed against him deliciously boneless from their activity. It was then as they were relaxing with panted breaths that Chuck admitted what was on his mind. In a quiet, yet slighly angry vice, he admitted "Blair...I'm ashamed to admit it...but I'm homeless."

"Homeless?! Chuck Bass how in the world are you homeless? Don't you own the building that you live in?" Blair ased increduously, more than little surprised.

"Not anymore. When my father regained control of Bass Industries, he included The Empire Hotel as part of the package. Then this morning, in an eight o'clock business meeting this morning, he informed me that I no longer have the privilege of residing in the penthouse suite in the hotel cost free. My father informed me that it made better business sense to have the suite available should certain, paying guests want to stay there. So thus I'm virtually homeless, now..." he sighed, still slightly embarrassed at this latest pitfall he'd encountered.

"Oh darling...that's terrible! Well you know that you can come stay with me. I have quite a bit of room now that Serena no longer lives there." she replied, trying to assuge his worry.

"I'm sure you do...but I don't want to live off of your dime. I'm not a push around lapdog like some people. I'm not Mr Blair Waldorf...I'm Chuck Bass." he growled slightly indignant.

"As I very well know. But hon, it's different now. We're married so that means what's mine is yours and vice versa. We have the right and privilege of helping each other and being there for one another. I want you to live with me Chuck Bass because you're my husband...despite the fact that you want to attempt to keep everyone in the dark about it." she sighed, nearly pleading with him to agree.

Seeing the concern and desire in her dark eyes, something cracked in his soul a bit, especially when he realized how sincere she acually was. Drawing in a breath, he replied "Fine...I see your point. I just don't want your pity. I am not a person to be pitied." he stated as she replied "Oh of course I don't pity you. What I'm doing for you Chuck is purely out of love." she sighed and held him close. "After hearing what Bart did, I have a mind to give him a piece of my mind." she passionately pondered.

"If you do that, my darling, then it is something I would surely love to see." he chuckled knowingly.

"Maybe we can arrange a meeting with your father soon. When is the next time he's available? Do you know?" she asked, curiously.

"Hm...I seem to recall seeing his day planner say that he and Lily would be going out tonight, so perhaps we can catch them before they leave?" he replied.

"Mm...perfect. Tonight it is..." she slyly replied.

xoxoxoxo

That night Blair accompanied Chuck to the Vanderwoodsen & Bass penthouse on the Upper East Side, where Chuck had briefly resided during his senior year old high school, and where the Vanderwoodsen family had resided in the meantime. They were met by Lily, who was soon accompanied by Bart.

"Hello Chuck, Blair...its interesting to see the two of you together..." Lily pondered as she greeted them each with an air kiss.

"Indeed it is..." Bart replied, eying them suspiciously before adding "Have you come here to beg a room from us, son? If so, I have to inform you that my in-house office was turned into a music rehearsal space apparently by Rufus Humphrey...so who knows the condition of your former bedroom? Speaking of my office, I've noticed that the vault has been opened several times in my absence, and various documents have been riffled through, among them, some of the paperwork I'd had drawn up on Lily, Serena, Eric, and yourself. I've changed the locks so that my belongings are no longer tampered with, son." he glowered at Chuck in a repramanding way.

"May I apologize...father...but at the time...I'd assumed that you were dead." Chuck replied, clenching his chisled jaw in mildly repressed anger.

"Well you know what happens when you assume. Nonetheless, that still didn't give you the right to examine the contents of my vault. Have you ever heard of respecting the dead? I was dishertened to see the contents of my vault tampered with, however I was pleased to see that you hadn't pawned my bar of gold off for an ill-begotten scheme." Bart replied, looking suarely between both Chuck and Blair.

"Uh Bart that's enough. Charles wasn't the only one to examine the contents of your vault from time to time. Why even I've perused it to look for important documents, deeds, and yes to sort through the dossiers...since we all believed you were gone." Lily chastised Bart, attempting to draw her husband's ire away from his son.

"Oh...yes..well...still..." Bart murmered, at a slight loss for words.

"Anyway, Charles, Blair, we were just leaving...but if you need anything we can spare a few moments. Serena isn't here but we have heard back from her and her new fiance. He seems like a lovely...man...though not as much as you Charles, or you either, Bart." Lily replied, trying to smooth the waters of discontent a bit with her words.

"Thank you Lily. You're too kind." Chuck replied as Blair smiled, then asked "Fiance? Did you say that Serena was engaged?"

"Why yes, Blair. Serena called me to inform us that she and Steve are engaged and that Steve has a nearly seventeen year old daughter named Sage. Quite the resposibilty and surprise in fact, but I'm sure its something you or your mother can sympathize with. Right, Blair?" Lily mused aloud.

"Yes indeed..." Blair stammered remembering her recent past. "Anyway we came to talk with you about Chuck's living situation...I think its incredibly unfair for you to kick Chuck out of his penthouse at the Empire...He's worked hard and has a proven track record of success. Maybe he's made some mistakes in the past, but haven't we all?" she impassionately pleaded.

"Indeed some more than others, apparently." Bart replied, still staring at her. "Though you do make quite the impassioned plea...perhaps I should consider it." he mused as he went on. "Well, Lily, we should leave now. Promptness is imperiative in business dealings such as we're on...so until later, Charles, Blair..." Bart replied as he ushered Lily to the elevator and they left.

"See Chuck...I won my case. Your father will let you stay." she opimistically commented.

"No, Blair. You don't know my father. He was lulling you into a false sense of security...he'd never agree." Chuck huffed as he went to leave too.

xoxoxoxo

Afterwards they went out to dinner, then went back to the Waldorf penthouse to relax and unwind...by taking a bath together. Sitting in the bath, with Chuck, eating macarons was certainly an interesting and enjoyable experience and certainly made bath time far more fun. One might not think Chuck Bass would like bubble baths...and to be honest sometimes he wondered himself...but in fact he found them to be quite fun, especially if Blair was in the tub with him.

"I'm so sorry your father is such an asshole, Chuck. It's a shame how he treats you, although maybe he's turning over a new leaf. You certainly have." Blair sighed as she leaned back against his shoulder in he tub.

"Thanks. I know I have certainly tried." he sighed.

"You have and I must admit I was naive not to notice it and accept it sooner. Your efforts in the past year are admirable. Obviously...what I told you several years ago is true. You are twice the man your father was...is. It's an utter shame that he doesn't see what I see." she sighed.

"Yes I know..." he sighed, then changed the subject. "So how's it being the CEO of Waldorf Industries? Everything you thought it would be?" he teased.

"Waldorf _Industries? _You wish! Waldorf Designs...so far. Well I could say its deplorable and that no one listens to anything I say or they resent my direction...and finding a new designer is an inconvenience I'd rather not be saddled with...but in part its not so bad. I simultaneously love and resent the power sometimes. I also need to make some management changes...and I think I have just the right people in mind for the job. They might have their flaws...but they almost always follow my direction to a tee." she mused thinking of just the people in mind.

"Mm...if they are who I think you have in mind, then I'm not surprised." he mused as he stroked his hands over her body, under the bubbles. "And speaking of being saddled...that reminds me...My father is thinking about purchasing a few horses again, in a few weeks...which would be the perfect opportunity to invest some of my capital."

"Oh...buy racehorses to race and breed? Ooh count me in too. We can invest together...or I'll be the figurehead and you can be the silent partner...and we can get your money back quicker than you can guess, as long as we get better horses than Bart does." she quipped.

"Mm...sounds like a plan..." he mused. "Though all of this talk of breeding horses has gotten me..." he seductively mused, giving her an indication of what he had in mind.

Feeling what was on his mind poke her in the back, Blair purred "Hot and bothered? Well I guess I'll just have to get back in the saddle and do something about that myself.." as she spun around and settled herself on his body.

"Well climb on then and be prepared for a bumpy ride." he chuckled seductively as he did just that.

xoxoxo

The horse auction and club party that Chuck had mentioned was still a few weeks away. In the mean time though there was a fashion show Blair had to prep for, as well as other events and duties to accomplish, so she kept busy indeed. Then Chuck informed her that Bart had decided to throw a rooftop party as a grand opening for one of the buildings Bass Industries had purchased and had recently completed renovations on. Chuck was of course invited and because Blair was a new business leader, she was invited as well, bringing along some of her new business associates as well.

Spotting her with Blair with her girls, Chuck sidled over to her nonchalantly and asked "So...you did come after all. I wasn't sure if you were going to, but I'm glad you did."

"Thank you Chuck, though I would hope you'd be glad. Yes, I know that I was trying to make up mind, depending upon if we'd have enough time tonight...however knowing that it was a Bass Industries party I knew I should come...because only the best people attend parties thrown by a Bass." she mused teasingly.

"Indeed. And these are your associates, I see? Interesting choices...though not surprising." he mused.

"Oh but of course I hire only the best...or at last people willing to do my bidding...as these girls always are." she mused as she commanded "Jessica, drink please. You know how I get parched." instructing her old friend from Columbia with what she wanted done.

"You know I could have done that for you." he mused.

"Oh of course, but I love to make sure I keep my girls busy at all times. Best way to keep them in line." she mused haughtily.

"Mm..you're so bad darling.." he smirked, leaning down to brush his lips against her ear as he whispered "you know it gets me hard.."

"Indeed...but maybe you can save some for tonight." she teased back, trying to keep the sexy beast that was Chuck Bass, at bay a bit.

"Anyway, Chuck I want to be able to prove myself to my mother with his fashion show she's insisting I do. Based on her past fashion shows, taking care of the guest list should be no problem..although I wish I could get a chance to speak to Serena again. It just feels like something is missing now that Serena's off in the no-man's land of upstate New York. With your connections, have you heard anything from her lately?" Blair sighed, feeling a bit serious.

"Hm...well I will have to contact my new P.I. again, since I had to replace Andrew Tyler, but once I discover anything new I'll let you know...because I too would like to know if Serena is fine." Chuck replied pondering seriously as well.

The rest of the rooftop party went as expected, with guests mingling, chatting, and perhaps drinking a bit much. Finally, towards the end, Bart suddenly mounted the dais and made an announcement to the assembled guests.

"...I would like to thank everyone who has graced us with your presence here and your continuing support of Bass Industries. As the company looks toward the future, diversity in industry has always been our goal, an in an example of diversification and expansion, we are looking to expand into the health care industry. In an effort to do that, I would like to announce a partnership my company is forming with another recent pioneer in this field. May I introduce Mr Steve Spence." Bart announcd as he gave his introduction, then turned the podium over to Steve Spence, who walked up to the microphone and gave his speech.

As Steve spoke, Blair glanced toward an area just off the side of the podium and noticed Serena sanding there, looking as beautiful as ever in a designer gown. Sidling over to her, Blair made her way through the crowd until she arrived right at Serena's side. Tapping her on the shoulder, Blair tried to strike up a conversation, even if it was a bit awkward.

"Hello Serena, you look well."

"Thank you Blair...though its little to do with you. Still yes I'm doing better now. With the help of Steve and some of my friends from the clinic." she replied slightly aloof.

"Serena I'm so sorry that you had to go to a clinic and I couldn't be there for you. I was busy this summer." Blair sighed.

"I can imagine. Traveling through Rome with Dan, then?" Serena guessed.

"No...I was in France with my mother and fathers this summer. Being a CEO isn't a tremendously easy career, you must know." she replied.

"I can imagine." she replied.

"Well it isn't...but so far my mother says I'm excelling with flying colors. Said that I would be at the top of my class if it was a school. And I'm with Chuck now...though you've probably already guessed that. Still don't let Bart know, or else he'd give us holy hell over it because he still hates me for some reason." Blair added, trying to keep her tones hushed a bit.

"Oh well, I'm glad you're doing so well Blair. With your career and your relationship with Chuck. Really I am. My life has actually been on an uptick as well lately. I'm nearly twenty weeks sober, thanks in no small part to the aid I received at Spence House. My relationship with Steve is going well...so well that we just got engaged! And as far as a career...because of my positive response to the program, I'm now the spokeswoman for Spence House, which mean advertisement campaigns in all forms of media beginning tomorrow. Actually speaking of that, my first appearance begins today." Serena replied as Blair suddenly noticed that Steve Spence had paused in his speech and was inviting Serena to join him on the dais right by the microphone.

Looking vaguely like a post beauty pageant, Miss America, her long, blond hair shining and skin glowing, Serena joined Steve at the microphone, greeted the crowd and soon launched into her speech, where she lauded Steve Spence and the many positive points about Spence House, mentioning how the organization had virtually saved her life. Listening to the speech, Blair became slightly nauseated at the saccharine sweetness and emotional poignancy Serena tried to bring into her story, obviously trying to tug at people heartstrings with her sob story. (If Spence was trying to solicit donations, Serena was certainly the perfect poster child for redemption at the moment, and with her bombshell good looks, it was no surprise if that was why she'd been chosen.)

Chuck sidled up to Blair and coyly whispered in her ear "Quite the irony isn't it, that Serena is now the poster child for a substance abuse clinic for real...exactly five years after college night?"

"College night? Oh yes the Constance Billard and St Jude university luncheon, our scheme against Serena, and the wing at the Ostroff Center...I'd forgotten about that. Yes, ironic indeed that she now is officially the face of a rehab clinic. I should've apologized to her then, especially since I didn't know it'd been Eric back then. Still this speech is so sweet its ridiculous...I really wonder if he's using her." she pondered aloud.

"I wouldn't be surprising...but don't get your La Pearlas into a bunch, Blair...although if you do I'd be more than willing to take them off your..." he teasingly insinuated, rubbing her ass.

"You're dirty...and I love it...but not here..." she chided mildly.

"Mm...Well if you're still concerned about Serena, I'll have Mr Spence and his organization investigated and you'll be the first to know about anything." Chuck assured her.

xoxoxoxo

While everyone at the party were listening to Serena's speech, there was a teenage girl and her friends lounging at the back, swiping drinks and sizing up the guests and the guests of honor. Being a daughter of the UES now, Sage Spence knew how to work the people around her. So far this crowd were filled with what she'd determine as 'middle aged' people.

Sizing up the crowd, Sage judged everyone on site base on style, gender, age, and so on. Making lists of their critiques was one of their favorite things.

"Such a boring people...old...geek...poesur...fake...whore...bastard..idiot...ass kissers every one...with my Steven being the biggest of them all. I don't know what my father sees in these people or his new girlfriend...Ser-ee-nah! How dare he try to replace my mother with Sereeena..." Sage sighed, over enunciating Serena's name in her frustration.

"I don't know...but since it's Serena Vanderwoodsen I can probably guess why. Serena has had quite the reputation as an IT girl...all of our older sisters who attended Constance with her have told us stories about how they wanted to be her back in the day...if not more recently..." her one friend replied.

"But she also comes from an old family rich in tradition in the UES...so obviously if your father is with her...he's expecting to catch some of her glamour...if not marry up." another girl added.

"Hmm...interesting. Any weak links? Other than her substance abuse issues? If she's a Vanderwoodsen, how is she connected to this Bart Bass fellow?" Sage coyly asked.

"Well...as far as we know...her mom married Bart maybe four or five years ago...but then he died...or I thought he did? Anyway the mom married some loser from Brooklyn named Dufus Humphrey or something...but then Bart came back and now Lily's married to him again." the first girl replied.

"But I thought that Serena dated her step-brother once? At least that's what my sister said." the second girl asked.

"Step-brother? You mean that wily fellow that looks like he stepped out of an old gangster movie...and is feeling up that brunette with a headband?" Sage asked glancing toward a dubious.

"Ha ha...noooo! That's Chuck Bass, Bart's son...and Serena's step-bother. And the woman he's putting the moves on is Blair Waldorf, Serena's best friend. They've been together since high school...except for that time she married a Prince and dated Dan Humphrey for a bit...but either way those two are inseparable...and it looks like Chuck and Blair are back together again. Chuck was a notorious womanizer and playboy in high school...but he's been jonesing for, if not in love with, Blair Waldorf like forever, so he's not he brother Serena dated...No that distinction goes to Dan Humphrey, Rufus' son...who was Serena's step-brother her mother's marriage to him." the one girl explained.

"Oh Rufus not Dufus? I liked the first name better. Hmm...so who did that Dan fellow date first, Serena or Blair? And why does his name sound familiar?" Sage pondered.

"Serena of course! According to my sister, Dan and Serena were high school sweethearts...then they broke up because their parents married each other...then Dan wrote that book about Serena and her friends and how he was in love with her best friend Blair the whole time...but my sister said that was ridiculous because he couldn't stand Blair in high school. And he just wrote it to make Serena jealous." the other girl replied.

"Oh that _Inside_ book. I'd thought I'd heard of that name before. That book was a piece of trash...but apart from the fake flattery, why did Blair date her friend's ex-boyfriend? Is she oblivious to girl code? Some friend." Sage scoffed.

"Well...I don't know? They'd supposedly become friends...but it was probably to make Serena jealous? Or Chuck Bass jealous? Or to pay Serena back for the Nate Archibald incident in high school?" the other girl replied.

"Nate Archibald incident? This is turning into quite the soap opera! Go on...and who is this Nate Archibald?" Sage asked, intrigued.

"That is Nate Archibald.." the girls replied, pointing to the dashing young executive downing a champagne and chatting with few women who looked to be at least a decade older than himself. "Son of The Captain and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald, now divorced. His father was involved with some money laundering scandal a long time ago and went to jail...boring stuff all I know. Anyway before Chuck Bass and all of the drama, Blair Waldorf and Nate Archibald were a couple...supposedly high school sweethearts...until he slept with her best friend Serena Vanderwoodsen at a wedding...Then Serena went away to boarding school, got a reputation for being a bad girl, came back...and the rest is history." the girls babbled.

"Is Nate involved with Serena or anyone else?" Sage asked, realizing how hot the young man was.

"Not as far as we know. He's an heir to the Vanderbilt fortune and the Editor of a celebrity gossip magazine...quite the catch...and Serena might get jealous if he gets a serious girlfriend..." the one girl replied.

"Mm...with Serena dating my father...that Nate Archibald guy gives me quite the idea. Perhaps as I see it...high school boys have suddenly become so immature..." Sage mused, her blue eyes gleaming with mischief, as she suddenly had a brilliant idea indeed, snagging a champagne flute and downing it in one gulp as she plotted her next move.


	3. Chapter 3 Dirty Rotten Scandals

Dirty Rotten Scandals

The sun dawned on another glorious day in New York City. It was that time of year when students had just gone back to school and the nip of autumn was just in the air. This morning everyone was either getting up for their days, or getting up to no good. In a classic penthouse in the Upper East Side, a dark haired couple reluctantly began to awake after spending a bit too much time in bed.

"Mm...time to wake up Chuck...though I don't want to either..." Blair yawned, still snuggled against his chest, sighing in contentment.

"Five more minutes..." he groaned, throwing an arm over his face, before rolling over to curl up, under the covers, taking her with him.

"Hm...we need to get up...not go back to sleep.." she whined slightly, sliding her hands around his sexy body and drawing him to her. He groaned then, still reluctant to get up, shifting his body around a bit while he slid his hands down her body and slipped her leg over his hip and chuckled "Mm...see I'm up..."

"Ha ha...I didn't mean that way...but if you insist.." she teased, opening his pajama bottoms, freeing his cock as she ran her hands all over the Bass family jewels, before letting him slip inside as he rolled them over for a morning round...the way they both loved to start a morning together as a married couple. And usually it went splendidly, as long as Dorota or another servant didn't interrupt. Unfortunately though, that wasn't a guarantee.

The randy young couple had just gotten down to business under the duvet, when suddenly, without preamble, Dorota barged in announcing "Rise and shine Miss Blair...time to get up because today is your big day. Is your first fashion show so you must wake up." as she carried the breakfast tray in and pulled back the covers, exposing more than she bargained for.

"Oh...Mrs Blair...I'm so sorry! ." Dorota exclaimed as she stared down at the tangled bodies in the bed, consisting of Chuck with his pajama top half off and his pajama bottoms pulled down, exposing his bare ass, which Blair had one had gripping the fleshy part of, while her one leg was around his waist, while the other was over his arm.

"Omigod...DOROTA?! HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING?!" Blair gasped, rather embarrassed to be caught by her maid like that.

"I sorry...but door unlocked...and you told me to wake you up at 7 o'clock soo..." Dorota stammered in apology, then changed her tone out of curiosity "Mister Chuck do you know you have kangaroo on your..."

"Why yes I do...Do you want to hear the story on how I came about with it?" Chuck mused, slightly breathless, but with a seductively composed demeanor despite still being inside his wife.

"Let's not and say you did." Blair sarcastically replied as she let go of her husband and reached for the duvet to cover them.

"Hm...if you grip him lower he'll love it. I do that with Vanya and he growl like animal." Dorota mused.

"Dorota!" Blair gasped as chided her maid, as Chuck laughed and replied "Thank you Dorota for your wake up call and breakfast. You may be excused." as the maid then left.

"Uh I don't know what's gotten into her? Dorota giving us sex tips? The nerve!" Blair sighed exasperatedly, as she nonchalantly slid her hands down Chuck's sexy body, as her housekeeper had suggested.

"Mm...if that's what she meant...maybe her advice shouldn't be dismissed." Chuck seductively growled, clearly pleased with Blair's latest move.

"Well...maybe so. But do not let anyone know that we're getting sex tips from my housekeeper...or else I'll" she flustered.

"Or else you'll what?" he seductively mused.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" she teased.

"Indeed...you know I love it when you're angry?" he purred,.

"Well...then I'll just have to show you how angry I can get..." she seductively replied as she took control of their morning love making then.

xoxoxoxo

In a few streets down, Sage and her friends were plotting out their day, which was mainly following along with whatever she wanted to do. And Sage Spence had one goal in mind...bring down Serena from being her potential step-mother...as well as snagging a hot UES boyfriend.

"So girls...I've just thought of the ulimate plan to take down my would-be step-mother, Serena Vanderwoodsen. Do you want to hear it?" Sage mused as she spoke to her girl friends, while ordering a soy latte from the dishy waiter who arrived at their table to take their order.

"And what is your plan now, S?" one girl sighed, slightly bored as she studied her manicure.

"Well it's easy. In fact it could be considered killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes." she began, eying the other customers who were lounging around the Goose Chase Cafe, there for breakfast. "You know how cotillion is coming up and how we have yet to procure dates or the proper escorts? Well I just realized that if we want to be women of power and rule the world, we need to be able to show it by getting any man we want. We shouldn't just settle for high school boys if we want to get anywhere. No what we need are real men."

"Real men? And where are we going to get real men?" her one friend skeptically asked.

"Oh they're closer than you think..." Sage mused, but was soon interrupted.

"Well S, if you don't want high school boys, I know of a few guys from Columbia or NYU who'd be willing to be our escorts." the other girl replied jovially.

"Uh no hon...Sorry but when I said men I didn't mean your cousin Melvin and the rest of his dead poets society from Columbia. No, when I say 'real men' I mean men with their own careers, penthouses, designer suits, sports cars, a house in the Hamptons, and a society name if possible. Real men, just like...him..." Sage replied as they all stared at the handsome young executive in the blue pinstriped suit. A true golden pretty boy with light brown hair and classic American boy next door good looks that only added to his appeal.

"Nate Archibald? You want to go to the cotillion with, Nate Archibald? Do you know his history?" the one girl inquired in surprise.

"About cotillions or my father's girlfriend, Serena?" Sage mused.

"Both?" the other girl replied inquiringly.

"Well as far as cotillions go, I know that Nate Archibald stepped up to be the escort for both classic debs like Blair Waldorf and Jenny Humphrey when their other dates fell through...and he apparently makes the perfect date. As far as Serena, I know that he and Serena were each other's firsts, and for a few years Serena was at a quandry over who she loved more Nate Archibald or some loser from Brooklyn. Something I wonder if she is fully over even now, despite her engagement to my father? So yes, I definitely know who Nate Archibald, is." Sage replied, suddenly all the more intent on catching the young man herself.

"So what do you want to do about it?" the one girl asked, curiously.

"Well...let's see...any games we can play? I know...first person to get the number from three men...I'll buy a drink for. Two if you get a kiss." she offered, thinking of ideas.

"What if we get a date?" one girl asked.

"Then I'll get something extra special." she mused, pondering over it all.

The girls started sauntering around the cafe, flirting with people, while Sage watched at first...but then decided to go for her intended goal herself, Nate. Sidling up to Nate, Sage nonchalantly said "Oh...I'm sorry did I spill something on you? I'm so sorry...I'll pay for your dry cleaning if you need it."

"Oh...its no problem...though if you are serious about the dry cleaning, these are my cleaners. Just say that you're there for Nate Archibald. They'll know what to do." Nate slyly replied, sizing up the girl in front of him and definitely intrigued.

"Oh...is that your name? Nate Archibald...I like it. A strong name. My name is Sage S...just Sage, like the spice." she mused, catching herself.

"Well...Sage like the spice, if there's is anything I could do...buy you a latte, or something stronger, don't hesitate to call me. Unless I call you...though I'd have to have your number first." he slyly suggested.

"Mm...well your wish is my command..." she replied silkily as she typed her number into his phone, adding it to his contacts list...then dialed her phone with his s that she had his private cell number too.

"Mm...well Sage my genie...thanks...maybe I will call you and have some other magic tricks in mind too." Nate mused as his thoughts wandered to the sensual as most young guys his age were wont to do.

Before they went any further though, Sage's friends interrupted them and gave her a message. Reconvening at a side table, Sage and her girls left the cafe, just as a familiar blonde entered the building.

"Hi Serena...what are you doing here today? Come to buy the freshest coffee and donuts?" Nate asked, as Serena breezed over to him in her usual nonchalant manner.

"Hi Nate...mm...maybe I will order something, but frst I'm searching for Steve's daughter. I was supposed to walk with her to school, but she left ths morning before I was ready to leave. Her father wanted me to keep an eye on her." Serena replied jovially to Nate.

"Oh are you playing nanny now, Serena? Interesting career choice." Nate joked, to whch she replied.

"Ha ha, no not quite. She's my fiance's daughter and he wanted me to walk with her to school because he's concerned about her making friends or being bullied and so on. She's also going to Constance and he thought it'd be a good way for us to bond..." she replied.

"Oh really? Swapping stories about Constance with each other? Does she know everything you did in school? Does your fiance know?" he asked, curiously.

"No...well probably not everything. I've told him a lot...but I doubt he knows everything." she laughed.

"Do you mean about us at the Sheppard Wedding?" Nate mused.

"Yes...that and some other things..." she blushed as she glanced at him conspiratorially. "And that's why I don't want him to find out. Promise?" she playfully asked.

"Oh yes I promise. My lips are sealed." he joked, acting like he was zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

"Ha ha...you're funny. Well I've got to get going, so I'll see you later. Remember tonight is Blair's fashion show..." she replied.

"And she'll let you be there?" he mused.

"Yes I plan to be there...although attempting to forgive her is something I'm working on." she replied, leaving the cafe.

"Well I'll be there then..." Nate replied as he briefly wondered if he could bring a date to the event as well.

xoxoxo

As Serena walked down the street, little did she now she was being followed by a curly haired young man and a crazy brunette in skinny jeans and a tank top and heels.

"All right we've been following Serena for five blocks now, when do you think we should approach her?" Dan asked as Georgina followed along.

"All in good time. You should know that when you are tailing someone you must always keep your distance. Plus anyway if she goes into the park, we'll have a good chance of seeing her since my contact is scheduled to meet me in the park at ten o'clock." she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Oh and who's your contact this time? A Russian spy? An Italian gangster? Someone from.." he asked, though was cut off.

"No nothing like that...this time...No Philip is just going to meet us there because Milo has this playgroup in the park. And before you ask, yes I'm so hungry for gossip I'm even willing to listen to the gaggle of other stay at home mothers." Georgina sighed dramatically. "Plus if Serena's there, we'll be able to spy on her lover, drug dealer, pimp, or whoever her contact might be."

"All right...that sounds like a plan...Oh and speaking of Serena, I think I see her now." Dan said as he grabbed Georgina's arm.

"What? Watch your hands Humphrey..." she chided, scowling at him, annoyed. "Oh yes...well come on, we'll meet up with Philip and tail Serena at the same time." Georgina said as she and Dan went into the park.

xoxoxo

Serena was strolling through the park when she suddenly came upon several girls clustered together on a bench, one girl obviously the leader of the pack. Feeling a bit of deja vu rush over from her high school years, Serena approached the bench with a level of nostalgia as she interrupted their meeting.

"Hello...Sage...what are you and your girls scheming about now? Plotting to take over the world?" she bemusedly asked, standing over them.

"Perhaps...hello Serena...what do you want?" Sage snapped, sending her a hairy eyeball of distain from under her hat.

"Well...I was just out for a walk...buying coffee and donuts, like a typical New Yorker...and I just happened to see a few girls I'm sure have to be in school about now...since it's ten o'clock." Serena replied slightly stern at the end.

"Well...that's nice to know. Although I'm positive that it isn't like you were never late to class before, when you were in school. I've heard rumors about you Serena Vanderwoodsen...and you certainly weren't perfect." Sage sarcastically replied.

"I'm not saying I am. You know my history at the clinic...and you've probably learned plenty about me from your friends and Gossip Girl. I'm not here to make enemies with you, Sage...I just don't want you to make some of the same mistakes I did." Serena sighed.

"Indeed...so is that coffee Free Trade? The cup recycled paperboard? The pastry organic and gluten free? And your pumps fake leather, or genuine? And I bet that purse cost enough to feed a family in Ethiopia for six months..hmm?" Sage replied, knowing she'd wind Serena up a little with some of her badgering, but in her opinion it was only fair since in her opinion her mere presence was a bother.

"Yes...no...I don't know, Sage? I bought it from a cafe down the street where I saw someone I knew. Anyway, your dad wanted me to make sure you made it to school safely, so that's why I'm here." Serena sighed, exasperated at her fiancee's teenage daughter and how much the girl seemed to encompass the craziest qualities of Jenny and Vanessa sometimes.

"Oh daddy wanted you to check up on me? Oh that changes everything...Too bad he sent you instead of coming himself!" she miffed loudly under her breath.

"Sage...you know how your father is busy lately. Plus I don't want to be your enemy...I want to be your friend. And don't you have your cotillion coming soon? I know when I went, I'd thought it was an antiquated notion, but in the end, I ended up having a blast. I'll have to tell you what happened that night." Serena replied.

"Really? What happened?" Sage asked, slightly intrigued, both out of genuine curiosity and as a means to get dirt on Serena.

"All right. Well let's just say that both I an my best friend, Blair, started off with one date...and ended up wih another by the end of the night. And what a night it was. But first off let me tell you about my mom and my grandma CeCe.." Serena began as Sage and her friends rose from the bench, following along behind Serena as she recounted the events from her own cotillion nearly exactly five years earlier.

xoxoxo

Chuck got on with his day, albeit slowly. In an effort to rebuild his life and bounce back with his career...with a plan to take over, if not best Bass Industries, he had to come up with other investment opportunities. Being a silent partner in Blair's family's company, Waldorf Designs, was one thing, but was only a small part. Other investments needed to be made, and since he was more or less his own man now, now that his position at Bass Industries was part-time at best, he knew that he could make even more outrageous gambles if he'd wanted to.

The race horse ownership idea came to him after Blair forced him to watch a movie marathon of Sea Biscuit and Secretariat, after a night where a Delmonico steak didn't agree with their stomachs and they were too ill to do anything else that evening. Watching the movies turned out to be not that bad and an inspiration, since the horses reminded him of his father's Arabians from his childhood...and the amount that the horses owners received from owning prize winning thoroughbreds in the films, suddenly reminded him of how much money he could make if he owned a potential prize winning thoroughbred himself. Personally he only knew a scant amount about horses...but he could always hire people for that, like in the films.

Winning a portion of the purse from a horse race also reminded him of one of Nate's recent pass times, boxing. Chuck himself hadn't attempted to spar in a ring or with gloves since a high school gym class his freshman year, however Nate kept touting it as a great way to work out, even going so far as to install a speed bag in the bedroom of the hotel suite he was now leasing, so Chuck decided to try it for himself and scope out the gym where Nate worked out. (Perhaps purchasing the gym would be a good investment someday, although all in good time.) Plus working out would certainly be a good outlet for his pent up energies and frustrations, because he certainly didn't want to be tempted into punching a wall or window again, if he could help it. Apart from working out and checking out he gym, he also wanted to look in to sponsoring a boxer, because he knew if he could find a kid who could be the next Muhammad Ali, etc., he'd be made.

Exiting the Waldorf penthouse under a shroud of secrecy, Chuck slipped on the most comfortable sweats he could find, which turned out to be a black, OnePiece JumpIn, zippered jumpsuit, which he slipped on right after his shower. Being a bit lazy, he just slipped it on commando, then slipped his black & white high top sneakers on too, as he sneaked out he servants entrance and made his way outside the building. Once outside, he pulled his iPod out and slipped he earphones on, as he put on shades, pulled up the hood on his outfit, and proceeded to jog down the street. Being tremendously athletic wasn't in Chuck's forte, especially because of he way he was built, which lent his body to more of a swaggering gait than a runner's sprint. Usually he turned that to his favor with a stride to match his ego, but today he decided to give it all he had, varying between running & walking as he made his way down the street.

After a few minutes, Chuck suddenly realized he was a block from the Met and it infamous steps, so shuffling his iPod, he found the song he wanted, subconsciously nibbling on his ear buds as he did so. Putting his earphones back in, he song kicked in, suddenly causing him to gain a burst of adrenaline and speed as he sprinted down he sidewalk and up the Met steps to The Eye Of The Tiger. Feeling a bit like Rocky, Chuck did a double fist pump, lifting his arms above his head, imagining his adoring crowd of fans, until the sound of the traffic killed the fantasy, he realized where he was, and held himself in check, recomposing himself.

He might have an eclectic sense of style and be willing to wear or do almost anything, but imitating a scene from the original Rocky movie was probably not in the general repertoire of cool for Chuck Bass. Personally, he didn't want to be caught acting like a geek on the Met steps, if he could help it, and end up on Gossip Girl for it, like his wife. (Ah he loved Blair, but he didn't know what she'd been thinking to let Humphrey force her to dress up like Princess Peach from a Mario Bros. game and 'crown her' on the Met steps as if she were five years old. A fact that she'd since told him had humiliated her to no end.)

After arriving at the Met and briefly fantasizing he was Rocky, his adrenaline suddenly waned and he realized how out of shape he actually was in some ways, so pulling out his cell, he quickly called his limo and driver to pick him up and take him to Blair's office, which just so happened to be right around the corner. Once the limo arrived, Chuck climbed in and told him where he wanted to go.

xoxoxo

Blair was busy that day, so busy that she wasn't sure if she could think straight. It was the day of her fashion show and everything had seemed to be in a mess the moment she'd walked into the office, however now, several hours later, it seemed to be flowing smoothly. At 3 PM, it was only three hours until she had to arrive at the location for the event. The models there even earlier, however knowing some of them, punctuality wasn't always a fact. Still things were currently humming along in a flurry of preparations and final management touches. Remembering her mother's past fashion shows, especially one four years ago in which Jenny Humphrey had interfered with her seating arrangements, as well as trying to upstage her own mother at the show, Blair wanted to make sure her show went as smooth as silk and without a hitch or flaw.

Thinking on that, Blair was just walking across the floor toward her underling designers, checking her Blackberry and barking orders, when she suddenly looked up to see a figure in a dark sweatsuit sauntering around the room. There was something familiar about the figure, from the slope of his shoulders to his posture in general, but Blair didn't realize that intially as she approached him from behind, saying.

"Sir, you have five seconds to state your business or I'm calling security! I...have a can of mace and I know how to use it!" she sternly threatened.

"Ooh Bad Cop...I like it...You have the mace...but did you bring the handcuffs?" the deep voice, sensuously teased as he turned around to face her, smirking behind his shades.

"Chuck! What are you doing here? Especially in that outfit? I can't believe you wore that in public." she sighed, teasingly chiding him, yet admiring the way his ass looked in what amounted to adult sized one piece pajamas.

"What? You don't like it? I decided to go for a jog...wearing the second most comfortable thing I have...or perhaps third." he mused.

"Third? What are the other two?" she inquired as she headed towards her office, while Chuck followed along behind.

"That would be...my own skin...and you...in no particular order." he seductively mused.

"Hm...how am I not surprised." she said, closing the door behind her, entrapping them both in the room together. "So why are you here? Not that I'm not glad to see you...but you know my fashion show is tonight...and I want it to go flawlessly to prove my mother wrong."

"Hm...really? And what did she tell you that made you think you did something wrong?" he mused, as he helped himself to her mini bar, which mostly contained herb teas and Evian.

"Just what she told me. She keeps critiquing everything I say and do, as if she still runs the show even if I'm now the CEO." Blair sighed, accepting the drink Chuck handed her.

"Hm...I know what you mean in that area." he replied, staring off for a moment, before continuing. "Nonetheless...yes...I knew today was your fashion show...and that it'd leave you tense...so I thought I'd stop by to...relieve your tension..." he seductively growled, a playful look in his eye as he unzipped the front of his sweatsuit, all the way down, showing at first an ample slice of his manly chest.

Upon witnessing that, all thoughts that Chuck looked like a cross between a hip hop star, a graffiti tagger, and a Teletubbie in his sweatsuit vanished from Blair's mind, as he stripped down right in front of her. Her mouth salivating as she imagined jumping a naked Chuck Bass right then and there, sanity suddenly returned for a moment as she felt she had to ask. "Ah...Mr Bass...I love the show...but I have to ask...are you wearing anything under there?"

"Wanna find out? Pull it the rest of the way yourself." he replied, the sexy, teasing man he often was in their most intimate moments.

Taking him up on his saucy challenge, Blair sauntered over to Chuck and slowly pulled the zipper down, simultaneously surprised and not surprised that his burgeoning cock immediately sprung free from its knit cotton confinement. "Oh...hello...I see you're certainly ready to go...and you weren't wearing anything underneath. Ohmigod! Ha ha..." she sensuously gasped and chuckled as she took him in her hand and ran it up and down his length the way she knew he liked.

"Of course! Going commando is the only way to go!" he sensuously chuckled in reply, groaning slightly from Blair's ministrations of him.

"Ha ha...talk about easy access. So did you do this just for me? I'll have to think of a way to think you." she mused, kneeling down with her intent obvious to both.

"I think you just have." he replied, his voice low and his eyes sinfully dark with desire.

"Only if you do it to me in return afterwards." she replied as she leaned forward to quickly kiss her way down his luscious chest and belly, marveling in the different, masculine odors his body emitted as she made her way southward.

Grinning at her with a smile filled with a mixture of sensuous lust and tender desire, he replied "Oh but of course." in a deep voice that was filled with the promise of sexual pleasure.

Reaching her goal, Blair began to orally pleasure him in earnest, using her lips and teeth to her best advantage as she took him in and sucked him dry, as he panted and moaned in the background. Even after all their years of pleasure, pain, friendship, love, and lots of drama, Blair still reveled in the fact that she was the one who was making Chuck Bass turn into a sensual pool of jello...and he was her husband as well. Knowing that she was in for a world of pleasure afterwards from Chuck's own skillful mouth, plus from what she was doing to him now, Blair was already so wet she thought she could come even before he did. Only Chuck could do that for her, recent past experience had made that startlingly clear indeed. Experience she'd rather not dwell on, unless she wanted to lose the current orgasm that was building inside her even know.

xoxoxo

As Blair and Chuck were having their sexual fun in Blair's office, a young artist and self styled 'designer' stopped by the offices of Waldorf Designs under the auspices of enrolling in an internship program. Really though, she was just there to spy and dig up dirt on Serena, since the designer...or CEO (she wasn't sure which), Blair Waldorf...was or had been Serena's 'best friend in the world' though current rumor had it that their friendship was tenuous at best at the moment. Information like that was music to her ears, especially if she wanted to take down her would be step-mother once and for all. Plus, being a bit of an environmentalist or activist to some degree, she was curious about the type of items that were going to be displayed in the fashion show. There was a rumor that fur was going to be included in the show, and she wanted to know if it was true.

Making her way through the office building, Sage Spence slipped her way across the main floor of the office, until she arrived at the racks of clothes which she figured would be part of the fashion show. Quickly inspecting the pieces, she soon realized that they were well made, albeit interesting looking fashions. They weren't quite as cruelty free and organic as she would have liked, nor her style personally, although she could make a few pieces here and there work for herself and her friends, but the rumors about fur being part of the collection also proved to be false as well.

Pondering what to do next, suddenly one of the other employees, a harried looking woman, suddenly spotted her and asked. "Hey you there...are you one of the new interns?"

"Yes...yes I am...on scholarship from NYU...design school.." Sage replied, quickly thinking on her feet.

"All right...well we need to get these pieces loaded up on the truck downstairs. They all are meant for the fashion show...and needed to be loaded thirty minutes ago. And you haven't seen Carina, have you? She was supposed to be taking care of this..." the associate replied in command.

"Um...I think...she's downstairs..." she replied.

"Thanks...All right...get to work..." the associate replied, hurrying off to find the other girl.

Pleased with her luck, Sage began collecting garments to take downstairs. She already had an idea of what she wanted to do with the clothes and how she could hurt her would be step-mother in the process, when she passed Blair Waldorf's office on her way to the elevator. While in passing, Sage heard some strange, suspicious sounds coming from the office, such that curiosity got the better of her and she just had to look. Finding the door unlocked, Sage pushed it open a crack and peeked in to observe the source of the noises, which turned out to be quite the sight indeed. Laying sprawled on the desk was a brunette woman, with her skirt up around her chest, although her breasts were bared, and her legs wrapped around the body of a mostly naked man with short dark hair on his head and body, and what appeared to be pajamas puddled at his feet. Whoever they were, they were certainly making quite the private spectacle of themselves...and were certainly fun to watch...and almost as good as a scene from Fifty Shades of Gray...although they weren't using any obvious forms of bondage as far as she saw...and she never thought the hero would wear pajamas to the office...but who was she to know?

It wasn't until after a few moments that Sage suddenly realized that the two people who were currently in the throws of ecstasy and the horizontal, naked bod tango in the CEO's office was actually the CEO herself, Blair Waldorf...and her ubiquitous lover, Chuck Bass. According to society gossip and the infamously anonymous Gossip Girl website, opinion was mixed over whether or not they were together as a couple...mainly because of the negative opinion Chuck's father Bart held about Blair...but from what Sage could see, those two were definitely together one way or another, at least physically. Knowing what a great sex tape and what fodder for Gossip Girl this scene would be, Sage quickly whipped out her camera and filmed what she saw and heard.

xoxoxo

"Mm...Chuck my love...thank you...that was a great way to relax! Now I know why I married ya..." she breathlessly sighed, certainly well relaxed.

"Ah...so my wife married me cos I'm a sex machine?...I shoulda known it was that..." he moaned in mock dejection.

"Ha very funny. I married you because I love you Chuck...and I was a fool to try to deny it...I love you, I love you, I love you" she replied, hugging and reassuring him for the upteenth time since their reunion. Though adding "...and not just cos you're a sex machine..." in teasing.

"Ha ha...thanks...and I love you too...again and again." he replied kissing her neck and teasing her in an embrace.

They held each other for a moment, before Chuck released her and disengaged, wiping himself off with a tissue and cracking his back, and pulling up his sweatsuit, covering his body, as Blair replied "Mm...that was fun, Chuck...but we have to get back to the real world...and I have to get back to my fashion show. If Kati or Jessica discovers I was in here with you, our cover will be blown...although sometimes I wish it was...so that we can both wear our rings in public." Blair replied, studying the diamond wedding band she wore on a chain around her neck, before tucking it under her blouse.

"I know darling, but all in good time. I almost have a everything set in place for my entry back into reclaiming Bass Industries from my father...and building my own investments. Not only owning Arabians again, like my father used to own, but also another investment opportunity. You remember I told you how Nate's taking up boxing for sport? Well...I've decided to invest, just like the racehorses."

"Wait a minute...you're going to sponsor Nate and help him train to be a boxer?" Blair asked skeptically, lightheartedly adding "You think he could be a contender?"

"Hey with enough training, even I coulda been a contender..." Chuck joked, mimicking a boxer's punch in the air.

"Ha ha...very funny Brando Bass..." Blair sarcastically replied, as she spotted his iPod and checked the song queue. "Eye Of The Tiger? You and Nate aren't serious about training to be boxers now, are you?" she skeptically asked, laughing.

"Hm...yes and no...though what would you think if we did?" he coyly teased.

"Chuck! I don't know. Boxing a punching bag or a real sparring partner would be another great way to work off your tension issues...and once you do learn you'll have to teach me." she replied, until he interrupted her.

"Sure. If you're up to it...I don't want to hurt you." he replied, suddenly remembering an incident that he still felt sorry for and embarrassed about,

"You won't. Forget about that time with the wall...neither of us were in a good place then, and I know you're still sorry. Anyway...I want to learn how to box because maybe I have aggression too...and you always tell me I look sexy when I...glow." she replied.

"Ha ha indeed you do. And from recent experience, I know you certainly have a great box..." he insinuated.

"Ha ha Chuck, you and your dirty mind." she laughed, then added "Still I don't know if becoming a professional boxer is that great of a career choice for either you or Nate."

"Then it's good we don't intend to be...or at least I don't. No...I intend to be the investor who sponsors an up and coming young fighter, so that at least at first...I'll always get a cut of the purse he wins. Which is why I was going to the gym to check out the talent...although it looks like the fighter I was going to talk to isn't there yet." he replied nonchalantly cool.

"Well you do know that my fashion show begins at eight tonight...and I definitely want you to be there...so keep that in mind before you make too many plans." she replied, staring him down repremandingly.

"And I will be there...because I know where my priorities should lie." he chuckled teasingly as he gave her a quick peck and went to leave, as she replied.

"You better know...or else tonight..." she implied, giving him a look the spoke volumes, as he chuckled knowingly, pulled up his hood, and slipped out the door.

Sage meanwhile had gotten plenty of footage on Blair and Chuck. From the sex scene on the office desk, to part of their conversation about boxing, she had more than enough to send to Gossip Girl or use for her own purposes, if need be. Apparently, not only were the two of them together, but they were also secretly married...quite the news! And the guy, Chuck was training to be a boxer? Or Nate was? Or maybe they weren't? Either way, it'd make for a great piece of gossip...so along with that and the racks of clothes, Sage knew what she wanted to do.

xoxoxo

The next hours passed quickly. Chuck took his limo to the gym, but despite meeting some great people and lining up a trainer give him recreational lessons, the raw talent he'd been expected to meet wasn't there. So he thus only stayed a few minutes, then left to return to where he kept his suits, then showered and changed into one, looking dapper as ever in the end, as he planned to meet Blair at the location where her fashion show would be held at.

Blair herself, meanwhile had gone back to business for awhile, intent on last minute preparations, which included for her one of the crew at Waldorf Designs helping her change into the pink cocktail gown she'd decided to wear to the event. Being only in her early twenties yet, Blair wanted to look fresh and young, so she chose the dress and shoes she did, and the stylish side ponytail hairstyle that her stylist suggested. Dressed and ready to go, Blair took the limo she'd rented, riding along with her ever present posse of girls who were now her personal assistants...although when it came to limos, she'd much rather be riding along with only one companion. A certain sly, sexy young businessman with incredible taste and a calculating mind and a seductive deep voice and a wicked tongue...a body she could just imagine naked...

"Earth to Blair! I asked if you wanted to come up through the back entrance or walk the red carpet when we arrive at the show?" her one assistant asked, slightly annoyed.

"Oh...yes...It's a red carpet event? Of course it is, what am I thinking? Definitely the front door...and tell Arthur to step on!" Blair commanded, snapping herself out of her reverie and her sexy daydreams and memories of herself and Chuck naked in his limo.

"Arthur? Isn't that Chuck Bass's driver?" the one girl skeptically pondered.

"Ah...the driver then...whatever his name is! Eh garson with the bubble butt...get a move on...we don't have all day!" Blair commanded, reaching over and pressing the limousine's intercom like a professional.

"Blair!" the one girl chided as Blair gave her an annoyed stare, then haughtily replied "Our schedule for tonight, please..."

"Fine. 5:10 leave the office. 5:45 arrive at fashion show. 5:50 walk red carpet 5:59 enter building. 6:05 walk to backstage area. Check that refreshment table is set. 6:10 inspect assistants. 6:20 inspect models 6:45 check to make certain designs are in place. 7:01 check crowd of guests against pre-designed seating chart, if guests are not in their proper seats, make sure they are..." the assistant sighed, rattling off the list of tasks Blair and her assistants would have to accomplish before the night was over. Satisfied to just listen, Blair did just that, sliding back in her seat, content to let her personal assistant drone on.

As Blair Waldorf was riding her limo and Chuck Bass was riding in his, another limousine was making its way down Fifth Avenue to the location of the Waldorf Designs inagural fashion show under new management. This limousine's occupants included Serena Vanderwoodsen, her fiance, businessman and entreprenuer, Steven Spence, and his teenage daughter Sage Spence, who was strangely quiet this evening.

"So Serena, do you think that you're up to it? You know that its your choice to go to this event tonight..." Steve asked.

"Yes. Even though we had a falling out, Blair Waldorf is still my friend and so I want to support her in what she does. Being able to forgive those who've wronged me and those I have wronged is part of the program, isn't it? Plus, anyway I want to be able to face temptation head on and resist it, knowing that I can." Serena replied frankly as she looked toward Steve.

"That's great Serena. Still perhaps you should take one of these...just to keep you calm...and help you to resist whatever might temp you tonight." he suggested as he slipped out his pill case and shook two capsules into Serena's open palm.

Eying the two of them, Sage sarcastically piped up "Ooh daddy, can I have one too? I'm feeling a little frightened."

"No...I don't think so, Sage. Though what you could do is grab a bottle of water out of the mini bar for me...while you hold her phone." he brusquely commanded, staring her down.

"All right daddy. Is...a Vitamin Water okay?" she sighed, taking the phone in one hand and sliding the water bottle out of the mini bar and handing it to her father, who opened it and gave it to Serena. Sage meanwhile still had Serena's cell phone and began quickly scrolling through its contacts and so forth, until she came to a video that seemed very intriguing indeed. Quickly she sent the video to her phone via bluetooth, then gave the phone back to Serena, who seemed a bit subdued now that she'd gotten what she wanted.

They soon arrived at the destination, where they pulled up to the curb and exited the limo to the adoring crowd of fans and photographers who captured every brilliant moment as Serena and her companions made their way across the red carpet, with Serena Vanderwoodsen seemingly shining like the start that she was.

Once they were inside the building though as Serena and Steve mingled with the other guests, Sage slipped away from the crowd and into the backstage area to enact her plan. She soon found the back entrance to the building, and calling her friends, waited for them to appear at the door, which they soon did, just before she let them in, carrying the items they'd gotten. Through various connections she had, Sage had been able to acquire some cast offs from Linginfelder Brill and they, along with some bolts of fabric from the garment district, would suddenly become some interesting additions to Waldorf Design's latest line.

As well as the fashions, Sage and her friends decided to take over the whole show, by reworking the video she'd downloaded from Serena's phone and gave it to someone who remixed it into a club number with a sex bass. The contents of the video certainly lent themselves to that as well, adding sound effects that the music didn't have. All together, Sage knew it was going to be a show to remember...and in the end would certainly not be good for Serena's relationship with her father, Steve, nor her relationship with Blair Waldorf. Having done her homework on both Blair and Chuck, Sage also knew how those two were usually keen enough to spot a plot, so to keep them apart, she knew she had to create a diversion, so thus she sent a few text messages.

Blair had just met up with Chuck, who'd come backstage to snoop and tell her hello, when almost as soon as they'd sneaked a kiss, their phone simultaneously buzzed.

"Oh...I hate when that happens. Mm...it looks like duty calls...for some reason the person who was supposed to deliver the headbands went to the wrong door and now they want me to sort it out? Talk about incompetants! Maybe you can come along to help me..." she sighed.

"You're the CEO, that shouldn't be your worry. And I apologize...but I can't help you because it looks like my raw talent, future heavyweight champion is waiting for me at the gym right now...so I'm afraid I will miss part of your show." he said, slightly excited that his latest business idea might work out after all.

"Chuck...uh...well I suppose I understand...but I'll still miss you. Come back if you can...and if not, you better make it up to me tonight." she teased, slightly seductive, looking him in the eye.

"Oh you can be sure of it, beautiful. And if you get too lonely, I saw that Serena's out there." he mentioned as he gave her a quick kiss, then quickly sauntered off, as she watched him walk for a bit, before going on to deal with the shoe crisis as well as she could.

xoxoxo

While everyone was already inside the fashion show, two people who weren't technically on the guest list sneaked in. The young man wore a dark suit that was nearly a tux, while the young woman wore a dark, beaded gown and a sort of headdress type hat that included a veil to partially cover her face at a jaunty angle. Strolling through the crowd of guests, the young man asked the young woman...

"Sir Magnus Baine and Lady Celestia? Where did you come up with these names, G?"

"From one of those books you recommended that I read...although for what its worth, those novels about vampires and downworlders...or otherworlders...or aliens...or whatever the hell they were, made me laugh more than anything..." Georgina chuckled slyly as she pointed her eyes toward a crowd surrounding a luminous blond. "By the looks of it, Serena is here."

"Really? Okay...I know I want to apologize...but I don't know if she'll hear me out...Aw heck, here goes..." Dan sighed, as he grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and downed it in one swallow, groaning under his breath when the alcohol hit the pit of his stomach, as he strode off toward Serena.

"Go get 'em tiger!" Georgina purred as she grabbed a drink herself and slunk across the room, looking for Philip, who'd gotten an invite merely because of the technicality of who his parents were. Apparently whoever had sent the invitations at Waldorf Designs hadn't performed as thorough of a background check as they should have. An oversight Georgina reveled in now, although she herself hadn't technically been invited.

Milling with the crowd and feeling somewhat out of it, Serena was caught up greeting the other guests, when she suddenly sensed a presence near her. Looking beyond the crowd, she was able to pick out a dark figure standing along the edge. Parting the crowd with her mere actions, Serena made her way to the young man who seemed to be standing in wait for her.

"Dan...is that you? What are you doing here? Especially dressed like that? Do you think that you're some dark villain now, or have you come to apologize?" she mused inquiringly.

"Apologize. I'm sorry for how I've acted...toward you and so many others...I'd like to take back what I'd said that last time you came to my flat in Brooklyn. I never wanted you...out of my life like that...or for you to disappear..." he stammered, looking sightly flustered and cute, and much more like the boy she'd fallen for back in high school.

"Well Dan...I don't know what to say? Thank you...apology accepted so far. Though what about the last time? At the wedding?" she pondered inquiringly.

"Oh I'm sorry for then too, even though I still would caution you about letting people...Serena are you okay?" he replied, suddenly concerned because she seemed a little faint, as he rushed to her side.

"Thanks...Dan...though I think I'll be okay..." she replied, righting herself, as the lights dimmed as a sign for everyone that the show was about to begin.

They all took their seats along the outer edge of the catwalk, seemingly vying for the best seats even though most had been assigned. Still, when Serena took her seat, she wondered why she wasn't in the front row, since she was the designers daughter's best friend...or designer's best friend, since Blair now was the CEO. It was all rather confusing, still the seating snafu had to be a mix up, or merely an oversight...unless her best friend still harbored resentment towards her? Hoping that wasn't the case, Serena tentatively settled back in her seat, until she suddenly recalled how when they were younger, she and B had always watched the shows backstage, from the wings. Thinking that might be the case again, she gave an excuse to Steve, then stood up and made her way to the backstage area to find her friend.

Blair, meanwhile, was back to her usual spot after going on a wild goose chase of sorts to the back door, in search of the delivery man with the shoes, but once she got there, there was no deliveryman to be found. Fearing that she'd been played, or some associate had gotten their messages mixed up, Blair soon returned to the main area where everything seemed to be in the right from first glance. She'd only been there a moment, when suddenly she saw Serena heading her way backstage. Knowing that she'd wanted to talk to her friend anyway, in effort to mend her side of their friendship, she gladly walked over toward her.

"Serena...you did come after all! I'd thought that I'd heard you did, but all this has kept me so busy tonight. You won't believe how much work it takes to organize and oversee the entire fashion show yourself...especially when your assistants run you ragged with ridiculous requests." Blair sighed, after first greeting her friend with an air kiss.

"Yeah...I can imagine. I see you've been busy...so how have you been?" Serena tentatively asked.

"I've been well. Keeping busy with the company, and other things...including Chuck. Though I'll tell you about that later. Anyway how have you been S? I'm so sorry for the past year or so and how I treated everyone, but especially you. I don't know what I was thinking when I did some of what I did...and I know I can't blame it just on the PPD I suffered right after...the accident..." she sighed, sincerely apologizing, yet tearing up a bit in the end.

"Oh B, I didn't know...though I had wondered. Anyway, as far as myself...I'm doing better now...after a few months in the rehab clinic..." Serena sighed, trying to comfort her friend and herself.

"You ended up in a rehab clinic? Oh S! I truly sorry if what I did to you drove you to fall off the wagon. I'll try to make it up to you any way I can." Blair cried, suddenly feeling even more guilty over her past actions.

"Thank you Blair...but it wasn't all your fault..." Serena replied.

"I'll make it up to you, starting tonight. There's a part of the show dedicated just to you..." Blair replied as her assistant motioned for her that the show was about to begin. "Oh the show's about to start, so I have to go...and so should you. I hope you liked your seats."

"That's what I came to talk to you about, actually. Are you sure you wanted me in the second row, behind..." she began.

"Second row? You and your party are supposed to be front row, center. I made the seating chart myself." she gasped, then barked "Seating chart!" to an assistant who rushed the copy of the seating chart to her. Glancing at it, she exclaimed "What the fuck? Who's been messing with my seating chart? You haven't spotted Jenny Humphrey in the house tonight, have you?" Blair growled as she made some augmentations to the seating order and placing Serena and her party front and center.

"No, I don't think so, B." Serena chuckled as she watched her friend rearrange the seating chart.

"All right. S, you and your guests should be able to sit here now. Just follow Patricia here and she'll handle everything." Blair sighed as she finished the chart, handed it to her assistant, then motioned for her to escort Serena back to her seat and make the necessary changes to the seating arrangements, which she did, seating Serena and Steve in the front row just before the show began.

xoxoxo

In another part of the city, a black Krystal limousine pulled into the lot near the gym where he'd been told to go. Chuck Bass exited the limo, flanked by bodyguards that he had accompany him on some of his excursions now ever since his mugging and gunshot wound in Prague two years earlier. Entering the gym, Chuck and his men in black quickly scanned the place, noting the usual gym equipment and businessmen getting in some after hours sparring practice.

Chatting with a few people, he got a feel of the place, and eventually saw the trainer who he intended to hire to give him lessons, though he currently was with another client. A hot shot lawyer in his early forties, a few years younger than Lily or Rufus, who was senior partner at his firm and had a reputation with the ladies and for being a cocky businessman with a debonair air that rivaled only Chuck Bass himself. Although even he wasn't immune to rivals himself, since someone had just served him papers right in the ring.

Bemused, Chuck swaggered over to the ring and asked "Lover serve you papers Specter, or are one of them asking for a paternity test, at long last?"

"Very funny Bass Jr, you're one to talk. So did you come here to goad me, or are you here for my legal advice, because you do know that I could help you with that issue you're having with your father, don't you? Though it'll cost you." the other guy replied.

"Thanks...but it's being dealt with. No, I'm here to speak with your trainer. Wondering if a certain hot shot fighter was here anymore tonight. I received a message that said to come here tonight and meet him." Chuck replied, checking his message once again.

"No he isn't here. In fact he's still in Pittsburgh until next week. I dunno who sent you the message?" the trainer replied in a gruff voice as he broke from sparring.

"You're sure? Hm...apparently...I've been played, again." Chuck replied gruffly, glancing quickly around the gym but not spotting any other nefarious characters in the gym. He stayed a few more moments, until he left.

xoxoxo

The fashion show began in earnest back at the location. Music pumping and lights aimed at the runway, the models strutted there stuff in the first few rounds in the precise order Blair had designed and so far all was going well. Finally it came to the moment when the final round of fashions would be sent down the runway for all to see, including some of Blair's favorite pieces from the collection. Taking a seat, stage right, Blair impatiently waited for her cue to exit and walk halfway down the catwalk, after her small team of designers.

Suddenly just as the model wearing the final piece from the latest round returned back stage, the music changed from the anonymous pop rock and Top 40s hits the DJ had been playing, to something with a more sensual and hypnotic and just plain strange beat, which included moans mixed in. It wasn't until gasps could be heard from the audience over the music that Blair stepped out from backstage to peer out at the commotion. What she saw though was enough to cause her to gasp and shriek in horror.

Tromping down the catwalk like horses almost, were her models, clothed not in the round of her collection, but instead mostly nude except for old fur stoles, scarves, muffs, coats, hats, and pieces of material strategically placed on some. Some of the furs still had heads and eyes, some had bird parts as well as feathers, dear antlers, and a few of them even looked like repurposed bear skin & tiger skin rugs, with the final piece being a 'wedding dress' of sorts that seemed to be a white fur stole repurposed as a skirt, a white muff, and a shrug that had been edited to look like it'd been made from a baby seal. On their feet the models wore what looked to be the most hideous shoes Blair had ever seen since they appeared to be made out of cow or horse hooves, with antique six shooter pistols as the heels.

Apart from the numerous crimes against fashion and ethics per society today, there was also the music, the strobe light show, and a horendous video that seemed to be a sex tape spliced with some sex bass song. The people in the video suddenly becoming startlingly clear as Blair suddenly realized she and everyone else was watching a sex tape of Serena and Dan Humphrey having sex on a bar. From the look of Dan's ridiculous haircut (or lack there of), it appeared to have been from last spring, back when she'd been dating him. To be perfectly honest, Blair didn't really care that Dan had sex with Serena, since she had Chuck again and she was more than satisfied, and she knew that Serena and Dan were meant for each other. Still the idea that he'd cheated on her so readily with S still got to her only on principle, mainly because the sex between Dan and Serena was exactly how Nate had described the instance when he'd had sex with Serena... the same bar situation and everything. The fact that this sex tape had been released during her fashion show, along with the hideous fashions, was the fact that the video said 'Love, Serena' at the end, and obviously meant her friend was not as forgiving as she'd claimed.

Still, first things first, Blair thought as she immediately began shutting down the fashion show before she became a laughingstock of the fashion world, if not New York society in general, and especially _PETA._ Closing it down so quickly sent many in the audience in an uproar as well, as people began to filter outside in all of the confusion. The after party and all other events officially canceled, meant patrons began moving on to other clubs and restaurants to continue their nights.

The two best friends, Blair and Serena though were headed for a showdown to end all showdowns, or so it seemed.

"You fucking bitch! How dare you ruin my fashion show with your ridiculous sense of fashion and your porno with Dan Humphrey to boot? Now you're going to have my mother, _PETA, _the fashion editors at Vogue, W, Harper's Bizarre, Elle, you name it breathing down my back because of Waldorf Designs 'latest collection.' Gah I knew you were a little vegan sometimes, but you didn't have to be that over the top with those 'clothes', and throwing that video of you fucking Humphrey in there to try to piss me off ...just because you didn't really forgive after all, in the end!" Blair riled at her friend in high dudgeon.

"ME?! You think _I _did this? Coordinating all of those 'fashions' that looked like they came out of the Meat Packing District back when it still was just the Meat Packing District, was not my doing, Blair. Although maybe you should ask someone from Bass Industries about that one! And anyway I don't know how you got that tape of Dan and I, but you certainly had quite the gall to release it as part of your show, adding 'Love, Serena Vanderwoodsen' in bold script at the end." Serena bellowed, also angry and annoyed.

"I didn't do that! I didn't even know about the video until now! Although you stealing my boyfriends with sex on a bar...why am I not surprised. So when in our relationship did this blessed event happen, so I know how long he'd been cheating on me?" Blair asked a bit sarcastic and a bit curious.

"I didn't know you'd care...but it was the same night you went to Chuck, when Bart had that press conference at the Empire. I knew you loved Chuck more, so I decided to test Dan...and as I suspected, he went right for it, without any remorse." Serena sighed in a frank explanation.

"Really? Yeah I remember then. Very interesting indeed...and somehow I'm not surprised." she replied, thinking a moment, before asking "So what did you mean about the fashion disasters having something to do with Bass Industries? You're not trying to implicate Chuck in this, are you?"

"No. This is nearly a Chuck level scheme...but I'm not sure if he knows about it. I remember a while back I'd heard Bart having a conversation about animals and a glue factory, but he didn't want Chuck to know. Then I'd read this pamphlet that Vanessa I think left behind at the loft that told about animal cruelty. I forget what the group was called...but I think I know someone who would know. Steve's daughter, Sage. She was supposed to be here tonight...and actually came with us here...but I haven't seen her since the show started...or even before then." Serena sighed.

"Do you think Sage did all of this? If so kudos to her for pulling it off on her own...but of course no one ruins one of my events without retribution of some sort." Blair pondered as she continued to chat with Serena for a bit before bidding her adieu.

Xoxoxo

In another part of the city, in a city bar, a sad sap young man was trying to drown his sorrows with a bottle of Jack Daniels, even though he wasn't much of a drinker...and when he tried to be it always led to disasterous choices and ridiculous hangovers. Contemplating the events of the night, and how he'd left almost as soon as the video came on, Dan Humphrey didn't know what to think. Had Serena really okayed the usage of that sex tape in Blair's fashion show? Was this their cruel way of ganging up on him? Or maybe even Chuck Bass was in on it too? Nothing would surprise him anymore.

As he was contemplating all of the pitfalls in his own life and how he'd get his revenge, Dan suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning to see who it was, he saw a small Asian woman in a Mandrian collared beaded gown with a slit up the side. She was pretty hot, although in the back of his mind he began to imagine 'Have I somehow slipped into an alternate universe where Maggie Q's Nikita is propositioning me? Hell yeah!'

"Hello, Dan...remember me?" the young woman asked, her voice cultured yet familiar.

"If I were in another universe...I'd say...Nikita?" he mused, slightly drunkenly.

"Very funny, Dan, not quite. Here's a clue...we went to high school together..." she replied.

"Nelly Yuki? Wow...you've changed..." Dan mused, as he looked her over.

"Yes and so have you...sort of. So...you are no longer with Serena Vanderwoodsen?" she mused, taking the bar stool next to him, running her hand along his thigh.

"No...I was trying to make it up to her tonight...but not after what happened now." he sighed, attempting to look pathetic.

"Blair Waldorf's fashion show...where you and Serena were part of the action? Yes...I know about that and so much more. Hm...maybe you can tell me at my place...instead of this bar. Yes?" she mused.

"Sure...why not?" Dan slyly replied as he followed Nelly to the cab which took them back to her sublet New York apartment.

Xoxoxoxo

In a hotel room in the Upper West Side, Nate Archibald was varying his evening alternating between punching his speed bag and watching TV. Suddenly someone knocked on the door, so he got up and answered it, discovering the brunette girl he'd met at the cafe earlier in the day. Seeing that the girl was a knockout, he coyly asked. "Sage is it? How did you find me and what can I do for you?"

"Yes, Nate. I was just in the neighborhood...and I needed a place to crash...and wondered if you might be able to help a girl in a jam..." she asked, coyly flirting with him.

"Sure come in...though you can take the couch if you want to..." he mused, suddenly being reminded of both Jenny and Vanessa with this girl.

"Hm...unless I have other ideas. You know you should be paid for your generosity...and I intend to give you a full payment indeed." she mused, seductively stripping and flirting.

"Okay...though if its your idea..." he replied, becoming turned on by the sexy young woman stripping for him.

"Oh yes, I insist.." Sage replied, sultury and low as she instinctively knew where Nate's bedroom was and back them both into it for a bit of fun.

Xoxoxoxo

Back in the Upper East Side, Blair returned to her family's penthouse intent to relax and unwind. When she got there, she was pleased to discover that Chuck was already there and had orchestrated, with the help of Dorota and some of the other household staff, a night of pleasures and relaxation. It was Chuck's idea to make up for the fact that he'd missed most of her fashion show, and Dorota decided to help as a way to apologize for walking in on them that morning.

Relaxing for the massage, Blair let all of her tensions release as Chuck went to work with his magic hands. "Oh...Chuck that feels so good. So what kept you from the fashion show? Although perhaps it was a good thing you missed it."

"Remember that message I received right before I left?" he asked, kneading her back "Yes?" she replied. "Well it was from someone who claimed Pavlik was in the gym and was ready to meet me. So Arthur drove me Downtown to the gym, but when I arrived, he wasn't there and never had been. Someone there told me he was still in Pittsburgh."

"Really? So you might have been played too? You do know about what happened at my fashion show tonight?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Vaguely...I read on Gossip Girl something about fur fashions and a Humphrey sex tape. Was it you and him?" Chuck replied, slightly annoyed.

"The sex tape? NO! Nothing I ever tried with him was worthy of a sex tape...except perhaps for America's Funniest Home Videos!" she gasped, rolling her eyes. "No it was Serena and Dan having sex on a bar...role playing when Serena'd had sex with Nate on a bar. For Dan it was probably a fantasy come true...beyond having a threesome with us."

"He wanted to have a threesome...with us?" Chuck mused.

"Yes...after he thought I didn't put out. Gah! Plus anyone should know that a threesome is supposed to be a couple and a third person a random! He was dense!" she replied sarcastically rolling her eyes "Anyway somehow my fashion show was ruined with that stupid Dan and Serena sex tape and the hideous fashions that looked like people had literally killed animals to make them. And she said that someone at Bass Industries would know...but she didn't implicate you. Instead her step-daughter-to-be...Sage Spence."

"Hm...no I didn't know that. Bass Industries? Perhaps that is something we can both look into...later. Right now my love...I'd love to make us both forget our troubles..." he mused as he rolled her over, opened her robe, and began feasting on her body with his hands and his mouth...as she sighed and opened his robe, baring his sexy, nude body to her touch...as their worries soon drifted away on a cloud of sensual pleasure, uniting their bodies in the dance of sensuality and pleasure.


	4. Chapter 4 Portrait Of Lady Alexander

Portrait Of Lady Alexander

It dawned a bright and shining morning a few days later, as a young couple lounged in bed reading an article that had been emailed to Nate, since he was the managing editor of The Spectator. The girl in bed with his lounged off to the side, reading the article on the tablet PC that Nate used to read his email and in coming correspondence and so on concerning the paper.

"Yeah Nate you should hear this 'Members of society today should learn to take responsibility for their actions, rather than frittering their lives away on frivolous pursuits such as fashion, fashion shows, and the irresponsible folly of humiliating other people. Indicating that you are for a cause, through your actions, then denying it in person, is a prime example of this...' and so on and so forth. I sort of agree with what the author is trying to say...but he comes off as such a pompous wind bag in it. Who's it by? Dan Humphrey? Ugh I should've known! " Sage moaned indicating her disgust.

"Hey...Dan's my friend...don't insult him like that! Even if I have to agree..." Nate chuckled, grabbing for the iPad, which Sage playfully kept at bay.

"Nuh uh, cute boy...I'm not done with it yet! I still have to check my email...and check facebook...and check on my cows in Farmville...and edit Dan's article just a bit." she teased pushing her foot against his sculpted bare chest with the perfect washboard abs. Ah why she'd pursued high school boys when businessmen looked like that under their clothes, she never knew.

She quickly checked her facebook timeline, but hadn't gone far, when Nate tackled her and took away the iPad, placing it off on the bedside table as he had more amorous pursuits in mind before breakfast. Something Sage certainly went along with, since Nate Archibald was such a cute, sexy guy.

Xoxoxo

"So I submitted the article...let's see what Nate does with it. Though I probably should have sent it to the New Yorker instead." Dan commented as he walked down the street with Georgina again.

"Perhaps...though I can't wait until we can see the smug faces of Blair and Serena turn around once they read what you wrote about them in that article. Blaming that incident on you, then acting like they were all surprised that it happened? I'm so sure! Still...I'm surprised they didn't blame me for the incident...because it was a decent scheme...but alas it wasn't me. I'd just love to meet the person who did it. They'd be a perfect member of our team." Georgina mused as they walked down the street toward the park again.

"Speaking of team...are we headed to meet a contact, or just Philip again?" he asked nonchalantly.

"A contact. It is the valet for the ambassador from Uzbekistan and he claims he has the plans to...let's say make things happen...and we're supposed to transport it to the driver for the ambassador from...well I can't say right now because it is sensitive information. But let's just we're going to be going to Bedford Stuyvesant later today too...and Chinatown." she replied as he followed along.

Xoxoxoxo

Over in an apartment suite that was nearly a penthouse, Serena was having brunch along with Steve and his daughter, Sage, who'd just come in from a night away at a friend's.

"Sage...I'm glad to see you're back. We were worried when we couldn't find you after the party." Serena commented, curious to hear her explanation.

"Sorry...I was at a friend's house. I called my dad and left a message." Sage replied nonchalantly.

"Really? Steve did Sage leave you a message after all?" Serena asked, curiously.

"Oh yeah. She called while you were asleep, Serena. Told me that she was staying at her friend, Natalie's apartment for the night. I didn't think anything of it." Steve replied to Serena, then turned his attention to his daughter. "So princess, what did you and your friend do last night? Have fun?"

"Oh...yes we had fun...watching TV...playing games...and then going to bed...to sleep...things like that..." she nonchalantly replied, thinking on the spot.

"Oh I see...there Serena, Sage just had a nice, quiet evening with a friend or two. No big deal." Steve replied, as Serena became a bit more skeptical, based on the personal experience of having once been a teenage girl growing up on the Upper East Side. If there was more to Sage's story, as she was sure there was, Serena knew she'd get to the bottom of it indeed.

Xoxoxo

Over at a certain loft in Brooklyn, a young woman was looking through the contents of several boxes that were sitting on the floor of the main room.

"Aw...these are cute! These pictures of the kids in the tub and playing outside..." Ivy laughed as she glanced through old photos and whatnot.

"Oh those are just Dan and Jenny's baby pictures...I don't know how they ended up in there?" Rufus commented, as he glanced at what she'd found.

"They're cute though. Oh look...are these old concert photos and ticket stubs and stuff? These are pretty cool. Is this you, when you were in Lincoln Hawk? Ha ha..." she laughed in bemusement as she looked through even more things.

"Yes. Do you know Lily took some of those back in the day? She was a regular photographing groupie , free spirit back then...back before she started marrying and divorcing billionaires to make her way in the world." he gruffly replied, sighing a bit when he looked at the photographs and other momentos.

"Aw...Rufus...you couldn't help what happened recently...when Bart shows up out of the blue and proves that he never died. He's the bastard in this case." she replied, soothingly.

"That might be so, but she didn't have to choose him over me. I'd thought we had a good life...even though I can't personally provide a penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side. I used to think she didn't want the penthouse life, and was still the free spirit she always was...but that wasn't the case. Then I tried to blend in to her Upper East Side lifestyle, early in our marriage, but ended up feeling more like her personal servant than her husband. Despite our marriage, she was still Mrs. Crowley...while I was Mr. Bates the butler. I hate to admit it, but I even once slicked my hair back in the bathroom and realized I did resemble a younger version of Brenden Coyle." he commented.

"Really?" she skeptically replied.

"Yes, though apart from that I also realized that the last time I'd been somewhat happy was when I was productive and running the gallery, which I'd created for my first wife, who was a painter. So, I decided to go back into business. I'm not going to open another gallery...but I was thinking about a music shop with a cafe in the back. I'll have my music posters and memorabilia everywhere, then sell guitar strings, pics, guitars, amps, and other musical instrument supplies too." he replied.

"That sounds like a good idea, Rufus. And if you need anyone to help run the cafe, I'd be willing to help. I know I studied to be an actress, but I've done my fair share of waitressing as well in the past, especially when I was dating Max, who was a chef." Ivy replied.

"Thanks, I was hoping you'd say that. Hm...it seems I remember hearing about how Serena dated a guy named Max, who was also some type of pastry chef about a year ago...and how he was part of your scheme to get Lily's apartment?" Rufus pondered.

"Yes...but that was stupid and mostly Carol's idea at the time. Anyway, no more schemes like that, I'd love to be able to help you any way I can." Ivy replied with a smile as they then turned back to sorting through the boxes.

Xoxoxo

Over in an Upper West Side hotel suite that was currently rented as an apartment, two young adults are at work, trying to solve a problem.

"So Chuck, I just discovered what horse is in that picture your father bought for Lily. It's name was Lady Alexander and it was a racehorse who was the sire to many other championship horses within the past fifty years or so. Apparently the horse was of royal blood, having come the royal stables in Great Britain." Blair commented as she researched information on the horse in the photograph.

"Royal bloodlines, just because it came from the queen of England's stables? That's rich. So is there anything else?" Chuck asked.

"Yes...it appears..." she began, until her phone buzzed for a call. Looking down at the caller, she pressed ignore, as Chuck noticed and asked "Who was that?" teasingly.

"Oh...just my mother...calling to bitch me out about my disaster of a fashion show. I'd rather not talk to her right now...which is why I'm doing my research over here." Blair replied, annoyingly, as she then went on. "Anyway...back to the horses. Well according to the bloodlines for Lady Alexander's descendants...apparently one or two of them were sold to your father since the turn of the century from a Mr Raj Kadar to Bartholomew Bass. One on Sept 4, 2001...just before 9/11...and one on Mar 2003."

"Ah yes...the Arabians my father used to own. I recall them well from my boyhood memories...Blair, did I ever tell you about the Arabians my father used to own?" Chuck pondered, his deep voice taking on a slow, nostalgic purr.

"Yes...I remember how you compared me to one of them, ridden hard and put away wet." she nonchalantly replied.

"Oh yes...ha ha...I remember now. Yes...I only told you that...because you'd slept with Nate...and I was insanely jealous. You'd chosen me to give your virginity to...so I wanted it to remain that I was the only boy you'd ever ride. Do you remember the horseback riding lessons you had when you were twelve or thirteen, because I do. I'd go to the stables to check on my father's Arabians...and watch you taking your riding lessons...imaging you riding me instead." he purred seductively, recalling fond memories from the past.

"Omigod, Chuck, you were a little perv back then. If I'd know you were day dreaming of me riding you, I don't know if we'd have been the friends we were back then...especially at the riding stables." she chuckled, being sarcastically surprised, but teasingly so. "Anyway, speaking of your father's Arabians...do you know what happened to them?"

"Well...I do know that once when I'd tried to ride one, I accidentally put it away wet...and my father said that it was no longer good enough to be used as a racehorse...so he took it away...presumably to the glue factory...and I took the brunt of the blame." he sighed.

"That's terrible, Chuck...but I don't think it was all your fault because look...your father bought other horses...which were soon turned over for animal bi-product processing...in 2006, 2007, and 2008...before Bart disappeared." Blair replied, showing him the data online.

"Hm...father...what were you up to? And what are you now? The horse breeding soiree is this afternoon...so since my father and Lily are going and are expecting us to attend...I wonder if he's up to his old tricks again?" Chuck pondered.

"Well, we'll just have to find out, wouldn't you agree, Chuck?" Blair replied as they began to hatch their plan.

Xoxoxo

Back at Steve's apartment, Serena and Steve are sitting on the sofa having a slightly heated discussion.

"Serena are you sure this is wise?"

"Of course. I was a teenage girl in the city not that long ago, so I know the pitfalls that can befall someone here. I just want to know if she's telling the truth...plus anyway it wasn't that long ago that you weren't trusting Sage leaving the house even to walk to school alone." she replied.

"Yes that's true...Well I guess if you want to trail Sage through the city for part of the day, be my guest...though be careful out there yourself." Steve replied, truly concerned.

"Oh I will. Being a native, I believe that I can...but I'll be sure to check in to let you know what I discover." she reassured him then, as she planned her next move.

Xoxoxoxo

"Now Chuck, I have this brilliant idea for the Equestrian Club gala this evening. We'll go together, but split up as soon as we get there. You greet Lily and Bart and schmooze with the other guests, and if its true that Bart's buying more Arabians...you'll find out. Or maybe you could put in a bid to buy some yourself...because you know how you wanted to create your own stable of champion thoroughbreds yourself. Anyway, while you're busy with that, I'll be there as a potential client as well...but talk to the people who count...the other young, female riders." Blair said as she mentioned her plot to Chuck.

"Your ideas have merit...however...there's one young woman I want to speak with personally. Iman Kadar, the daughter of Bart's favorite horse breeder and seller. Now that I'm remembering, I do recall Raj meeting us at the stables a few times at the time of their sales. He would also bring his daughter, Iman along, and would insist that she treat him like an uncle and me like a cousin...albeit a kissing cousin at that." he chuckled at the memory.

"Well! That settles it then, I'm meeting Iman as well...and if its to be the stables, I've got to look the part. I haven't ridden a horse since I was fifteen or sixteen...because for some reason horseback riding lost its appeal for me once I..."

"Rode a Bass?" Chuck insinuatingly teased.

"Yes...but anyway that doesn't mean I can't ride again. Plus its the perfect excuse to buy some new riding gear...and look we're right by a Brooks Brothers...so let's go in. You can help me pick something out...and I'll help you pick something out too." Blair mused as they headed into the store.

She picked out some different pieces and modeled them for Chuck, finally deciding in the end on a khaki colored button down jacket, brown riding pants, new riding boots, a Hermes silk scarf, and an exclusive straw hat that could double as a riding helmet if necessary. While she was trying on the clothes, however, Blair inadvertantly let something slip.

"So what do you think about these riding pants? Look good? My butt doesn't look too big does it?" she asked as she posed in front of the mirrors and Chuck's eager eyes.

"No...you look good. I love your ass in those or nothing at all. Always have and always will. I like that color too...because they go with my slacks." he mused, teasing and slightly seductive.

"Yeah that's why I chose it...so we coordinate because we always work better when we coordinate." she replied as she checked herself out in the mirror and nonchalantly rubbed her stomach, which Chuck vaguely noticed, so he commented.

"Hm...the fit is good...but it's a little loose around the stomach area...Are you getting them to fix it?" he mused, curiously.

"Mm...no. If I decide to take up riding again after this, I'll need extra room in the near future again, so I went a size up. Still I can't believe I'm into a size six now...after being a double zero so long in high school." she sighed studying her slightly curvier body.

"Extra room again? Blair are you...?" he asked, his voice going up a little at the question.

"Yes...Oh yeah don't you know? I've been so busy lately I guess I forgot to tell you. Yes I am again...surprise surprise." she sighed, still examining herself in the mirror.

"Is it..." he whispered, standing up behind her so as not to broadcast their speculations all over Brooks Brother's. "Are you fine?" he continued, still concerned.

"Your's? Well let's just say its ours. You were willing to accept...the other one...so you'll accept whatever we have. Since we're...married...it'll definitely be a Bass. As far as...my health...I'm doing fine physically...and mentally all right too..." she answered, trying to keep her composure, but surprisingly, Chuck suddenly took her in his arms and gave her a quick, comforting hug and kiss. The fact that he'd did it to her in front of a three way mirror at a store, displayed how much he'd matured to the point of even being willing to put on a brief public display of affection.

"Sh...you'll be okay...we all will. I love you...and the baby. I'm glad you're doing fine...but just take it easy...maybe we shouldn't do this...today?" he pondered, happily, albeit a bit concerned.

"Thanks darling. Don't do this? What do you mean? Don't coddle me like Humphrey...I'm a big girl! And we'll talk later..." she playfully shooed him off a little, stepping away from the mirror to go back into the changing room.

"Fine. But now that I know...given your recent past...I am now doubting some of our plans today. As cute as you look, I don't think you should ride today. You could get hurt..." Chuck replied, his mind racing from images of Christopher Reeve at the most extreme, to images of Blair pouting over getting a scraped elbow during their brief honeymoon at the least extreme. Still given the news she'd just shared, there was still cause for concern with her potentially riding a horse.

"I know how to ride, Chuck. I'll be fine. We'll be fine." she replied, slightly annoyed.

"I beg to differ...I don't know, Blair..." he countered, slightly perturbed.

"Chuck! I'll be..." she exclaimed from behind the wooden door of the changing room, but was soon interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Charles...Is that you there? I thought it was you..." the blonde woman claimed.

"Lily! Yes...I'm just shopping a bit..." he exclaimed, trying to cover his tracks with an excuse.

"With Blair, is it? Hello Blair...I know you're in there." Lily mused, knocking on the door, as Blair walked out of the dressing room, still in the riding costume.

"Hello Lily...how did you know? I thought we were being discrete." she asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Ha ha...I heard you two arguing from over there..." she said, motioning toward a point several yards away. "Plus I saw when he gave you that hug. Quite the sight! So how long have you two been together...again? Since last spring?" she pondered eying them curiously.

"Yeah something like that. So...is my father here?" Chuck asked nervously, eying the place.

"No. Fortunately Bart had a business meeting...otherwise he might have had something to say." Lily teased, still looking at the young couple.

"That's good...and since you know now...I'd like to have a talk...somewhere more private than here." Chuck replied.

"That's fine. I have a few hours. Lead the way." she replied as the three of them paid for their purchases and left the store together, revealing some of their news to Lily as they walked out the door.

"So you two are married as well? Ha won't Bart be surprised? But I'll keep it a secret, I know. Hm...if Rufus was here, he'd probably suggest that I buy you a gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to help you set up your household." Lily replied, noticing the Downtown store not far from Brooks Brothers.

"Bed, Bath, and Beyond? Lily...you know that I never shop there! Its filled with such...No...I'm used to the finer things in life. Pratesi sheets or imported irish linen, Turkish towels, The Ralph Lauren Home Collection. None of which you can find at...Bed, Bath, and Beyond." Blair haughtily replied as they rode in the limousine.

"Well...ha ha...that may be so, Blair...and I know its gauche to discuss finances...but I just thought to remind you, if you are married you're going to have to be able to live off of whatever you two are able to make on your own. You may make a decent amount, but you must remember that you two don't have all of Bass Industries billions entirely at your disposal anymore. Not only that, but Chuck already lost his suite at the Empire...as well as full access to the Bass Industries helicopter and private jets." Lily replied as they rode on.

"Yes...I know..." Blair replied, slightly perturbed over the whole thing.

"Though let me say, that's per Bart, not me. If you two ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask. I might not be able to give you billions...but I'll help you when you need it." she reassured them as they made their way to Chuck and Nate's new hotel suite.

Once there, they sat down in the living room and began discussing the topic that Chuck had in mind to discuss. "Lily...I would like to know if you know anything about my father's plans for the horsemanship gala and auction tonight? Do you know if he intends to purchase any more horses from anyone?"

"Well...Charles...as far as I know, I do recall hearing him mention something about purchasing horses from an Iman Kadar this evening. Apparently they've done business in the past, or at least her family has. I believe that her father was a good friend of your father, am I right, Charles?" Lily replied inquiringly.

"Yes, the Kadars were my father's friends, though they were family friends as well. Iman was raised to refer to my father like an uncle and me like a cousin...though I must admit that by the time we were teenagers...kissing cousins would be putting it mildly." he mused, his voice soft, sultry, and bemused.

"Uh that's enough of your trips down memory lane, Chuck." Blair scolded, as she went on. "Anyway, Lily, after my disasterous fashion show...I learned some information that we wondered if you can shed some light on. Is it true that after purchasing the three year old Arabians from the Kadars, that if they didn't prove themselves right away...he sent them to a glue factory...or animal processing plant that Bass Industries secretly owns? And was that plant the one responsible for what happened at my fashion show?" Blair inquired, her voice filled with venom and snark.

"Well...Blair...I am not sure who's responsible for your fashion show...but as far as the Arabians your father used to own, Chuck, I'm afraid Blair's right. Bart did send some of them for...disposal, he called it. I saw the documentation and he described it to me once. Disgusting process and turned me from leather, at least for awhile...until the latest Loubitons or Birkin bag was released." Lily replied, adding. "Nonetheless, I'm sorry Charles, that you had to learn of what happened to the Arabians your father used to own, this way."

"Thank you. That's all right. All I want to do now though is to make sure my father is stopped before any more animals suffer." Chuck replied, just as his pet dog Monkey padded out of his bedroom and flopped down at his feel, prompting him to reach down and pet him.

"I entirely agree with you Charles, which is why I'm willing to help you two in any way that I can." Lily replied, eager to help as well.

Xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, over at the Humphrey family loft in Brooklyn, Ivy was waiting on a guest who was familiar to the loft but hadn't been there recently. To be able to make some extra money, she'd thought of a brilliant plan.

"Nate...I'm so glad you could come. Come right in." she mused, welcoming him into the home and offering him a seat on the sofa.

"Yeah...so you're living here now? You're not trying to scam Rufus out of all of his money and this loft now too?" Nate half heartedly joked, though he was curious about what she was up to now.

"Ha ha...no nothing like that! Although this loft...and this neighborhood...are more my style than Lily's place in the Upper East Side. But that's not why I invited you here. No, I was talking to Rufus and he told me that Lily began writing stories about the Spectator after Bart returned and Diana left. I think she got the information from Bart...presumably when they were in bed...and what it is is an expose abut how he used a hidden account flushed through Diana's escort party business to even fund the paper...and pay off your grandfather. I'd like to show you the articles to know what you think...but if we do that it may bring down Bart Bass a bit...or at leastwise your paper." she explained to Nate.

"Really? Ergh...my Grandfather...I wonder if he even knew? Though knowing him, he probably did. I'd love to help publish them, because of how Bart's treated Chuck this summer...but I don't know how we can publish some of Lily's stories about this in my magazine...without getting her permission? Or brigi down The Spectator even before we're finished telling the entire story? I don't know, Ivy." Nate skeptically replied.

"Well I could edit them a bit and publish them under a pen name or something. Then the extra money I make off of them, I'll give to Lily to pay her back for the mess I made last year." she offered.

"All right. Get a version to me as soon as you can and I'll take a look at it as well. And bring along the originals so that I know you didn't just make everything up in your mind." Nate suggested then, warming to the idea more than a bit."

"All right, will do." she laughed and he did too.

Nate waited a bit then as Ivy found several of the stories which she thought were the most interesting. Since many were handwritten into several spiral notebooks which both of them spent a bit deciphering before proceeding on to translate them into cohesive stories. Once they began reading them aloud, they chose the ones they wanted to use, then went from there, as Nate took the notebooks with him and left.

Xoxoxo

"So my father is planning to purchase more horses for his supposed stables, which is really an animal processing plant?" Chuck asked Lily as they sat in the living room area of his current hotel suite apartment.

"Yes, apparently so. I apologize Charles for not telling you this sooner, but yes apparently the horses your father once owned, the Arabians I believe, were all used for their by-products after their usefulness on the racetrack was exhausted. Personally I was appalled Bart had done such a thing, but when I asked him about it, he told me there were things about Bass Industries he would rather you didn't know about." Lily replied.

"Well now we do, and that's why we have to think of a brilliant plan, now that we know that he's going to that gala at the Equestrian Club...and will be purchasing a few horses. We have to head him off at the pass, so to say, which is why we're interested in purchasing a few of the horses instead. We just need to know our seller." he replied, inquiringly.

"We...as in you and Blair? Congratulations Charles, but I don't think you two should shoulder all of the financial burden, which is why I'll donate to your cause as well. I'm definitely behind the effort to stem animal cruelty. Anyway, as far as the seller, I just learned that Raj Kadare passed away several months ago, so you'll be brokering the transaction with his daughter, Iman. I hope you are comfortable with that." Lily replied.

"Oh really? That's...rather unfortunate because he was a good man. I do know his daughter, Iman, however, quite well. Doing business with her...would be quite the...pleasure." Chuck replied, his voice low as he gave a small smirk at the end.

"Yes...I suppose it would be, hm, Chuck?" Blair curtly replied, slightly scowling at him for a moment, before going on "Which is why Chuck and I will be working together...and I will be the one making a deal with Iman. I already have it all planned out..." Blair replied as she let Lily and even Chuck in on her brilliant plan as she'd thought it out thus far.

Xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile over at Steven's apartment, Steve and Serena were sitting in the living room area having a slightly heated discussion.

"Serena, I love your effort to help Sage, but if anyone's tracking her down, I'd rather I do it myself or hire someone to do it, rather than have you go out on your own." Steve said as he tried to talk Serena out of going out.

"But Steve, it's no big deal. I've taken care of myself out worse scrapes before. I'll be fine...and I'll report back everything I find..." she sighed.

"I care about you and don't want you to fall to temptation. But if you think you know what Sage is up to, then go and find her and report back. I'll be waiting for a full report...but first before you go, just take these. They'll help you resist any temptations that you encounter." Steven said as he handed her two more of the special pills he had.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you." Serena replied as she took the pills from her boyfriend, downing them with a swallow from her bottled water, then gave him a hug before she went to leave.

Xoxoxo

Meanwhile in an Upper East Side hotel office, middle aged businessman Bart Bass was on his cell phone talking to a client in his usual brusque manner.

"So...do you have the shipment ready to deliver? The money for this transaction is ready to go, and everything is in place. I just don't want certain people to know about this, do you understand?" he asked.

"Yes sir. Shipment will be ready for you to pick it up at the location you designated upon arrival. Arrangements have been made so that everything will be anonymous as you wished." the anonymous voice declared over the phone.

"Good. We should arrive in an hour, barring any unforseen delays." Bart replied as he glanced out the window, as simultaneously on the Upper West Side Lily, Chuck, Blair exited the hotel they were at and entered the limo that would take them back to the Palace Hotel to meet Bart so that they could all travel to the Equestrian Club together.

Xoxoxoxo

Riding in the limousine together was sort of a tense ride since Bart kept wondering why Blair Waldorf was riding along, although Chuck told him he was trying to be a gentleman for once and look out for someone else's needs...and since Blair needed a ride to the Equestrian Club, he was more than happy to offer her a ride.

"Offer her a ride? From what I know of you, son, transportation in my limousine isn't the only type of ride you had in mind, is it?" Bart scowled, with a smirk.

"Well..." Chuck drawled bemusedly eying Blair in her riding costume and admiring how her ass looked in the pants she wore.

"Ah...you'll never learn..." Bart mumbled under his breath as he went back to his paper and his Blackberry phone.

Once they arrived, Bart and Lily exited the limo, with Bart intending to meet up with the person he'd spoken on the phone with, but Lily dragged him over to the gathering crowd near the cocktail area so that they could mingle with the other patrons and party goers, so he reluctantly went along.

Chuck and Blair though split up in their separate parts of their mission, with Chuck intending to find the seller or Iman or potentially who Bart had intended to contact, while Blair went over to the riding stables, acting like she was just another wealthy young woman there to take her daily riding lesson. Still though, she'd listen in on the gossip of the other girls to see what they knew and if they knew if anything big was going to be going down that day.

In his search, Chuck soon recognized the young woman who he sought, who was standing beside an exceptionally excellent thoroughbred horse, so he decided to walk over to them and learn what he could of the deal she may have made with Bart.

"This is one of the most beautiful horses I've ever seen." Chuck commented as he gently ran his hand along the horse's neck and head.

"Thank you. My family takes great pride in our thoroughbreds." the young woman replied.

"I've been a fan of your family's horses since I was a child. There is one in particular I remember seeing race. I believe she's yours. A Lady Alexander?" Chuck asked inquiringly.

"Oh, Lady Alexander was my favorite horse, and she was much loved but never raced a day in her life." she replied.

"My father must have loved her as much as you did, because he paid a great deal for her." Chuck replied.

"No he couldn't have. You are mistaken. Lady Alexander was sold to a family friend and put to pasture. She was purposeless to anyone but me." she replied, adimant in her position.

"Which made her priceless." Chuck warmly replied, just as his father walks in to join the conversation catching the girl's eye.

"UNCLE BART! It's so good to see you!" she enthusiastically replied, greeting him warmly.

"Hm...I see my son attempts to work his charms on you?" Bart asked, with a ever so slight teasing air to his voice.

"Why didn't you tell me Bart Bas is your father? He's like family. Our fathers were good friends." she replied, glancing towards Chuck.

"Speaking of your father. I was so sorry to hear of his recent passing." Bart replied sympathetically.

"Thank you. It was all so sudden. I'm still recovering, to be honest. Now I'm the head of the organization, concerned with the placement and sales of our prize thoroughbreds to happy homes and successful careers." she replied.

"Really? Well I hope that you can broker many deals today. In fact, I might be able to give you a good price myself. Just watch for my representative who'll be around to speak to you momentarily." Bart replied as Chuck wandered off.

Meanwhile, Blair had wandered around the stables making inquiries and doing some general snooping around. She hadn't learned much, other than where the girls riding stables were and where Iman kept her horses. She listened in on the deal Bart was making, and waited until he left before she made her move.

Approaching the young woman and her horse, Blair called out a greeting. "Iman? Hi, I'm Blair, a close friend of Chuck's. I heard your conversation and know he left before he got to speak with you about what's important to him, which is also important to me."

"Is this about the horse? Because I know he never really wanted it. He was just flirting with me." she replied nonchalantly.

"...I don't think he was flirting." Blair dryly replied.

"Oh. Well, I already have another buyer so it's not a problem." Iman replied, while tending to her horse.

"That's great! I know how much these horses mean to you and meant to your father. Unfortunately they don't mean that much to Bart. He's not exactly a big donor to PETA, if you know what I'm saying." Blair replied.

"I'm not sure I do." Iman replied

"Bart Bass killed a tiger on safari, eats veal on a regular basis...has a zebra skin rug in his office, and a horsehair covered chair..." Blair replied, trying to bait the other woman's ire.

"I don't know about any of that...but he was a really good friend of my father. He bought Lady Alexander and all of the others so they could live out the rest of their days on a farm in Virginia." she replied, restating the story Bart had just told her earlier.

"Okay, listen, Princess Jasmine. The fact is, your 'Uncle Bart' is bad. I'm sure every single horse he'd bought from your family went straight to the glue factory, including your beloved Lady Alexander. So, look into it. See if you can find the Bart Bass Retirement Home For Aged Equines. But I'll save you the effort: you won't! Trust me, Chuck's the good guy here, and he needs your help." Blair said as she tried to explain the situation to her as it was.

After telling Iman everything she knew, Blair was satisfied with what she'd done and went on to see how the events would unfold now that Iman knew Bart's real purpose for the horses her family bred. With that in mind, Blair decided to check out the other horses, schmooze at the party, and listen in on the presentation that was going to happen that day.

xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, in another part of New York, Serena was following Sage to a boho boutique where she was hanging out behind the counter sorting through some of the designs which had just arrived off the truck in the back of the store. She seemed so used to it that it was obvious that she'd been doing the job for quite awhile. On the other side of the storefront, the location looked like a cafe.

Curious about all of it, Serena walked into the store and decided to find out more for herself.

At the sound of the jingle on the front door, Sage said as if by rote "Hello, welcome to Cafe Stain, can I help you with anything? Sabrina—Serena what are you doing here?" she gasped, sarcastically asking her with a whisper.

"Oh...I was just in the neighborhood and I thought that I'd check this place out. Hm...high fashion and coffee...together in one place? Novel concept. Who's place is this?" Serena asked as she glanced around the storefront.

"It's mine...now. It was originally my friend's aunt Brenda's cafe...and she let me start selling some of my fashions here...and it just went from there. Then Brenda left it all to me so far...and I've been running it now for the past few months, with the help of a few friends. It's a lot easier now that my father and I moved to the city...but still it would be so much easier if we could just live in the neighborhood. " Sage sighed, as she tried to explain.

"So you run this place and your father doesn't even know?" Serena asked.

"No. Or at least I doubt he does. Especially since he wants me in school instead." she replied as she then began to move through the store.

"Yeah...I was thinking about that too. Hey I'm not one to judge because my attendance in high school wasn't that great either. God you should've seen some of the parties I've been to and threw...and some of the other crap I got into...ha ha..." Serena chuckled as she followed Sage a bit, until she settled into a couch near the cafe's bar.

"Yeah I could imagine...You're Serena VanderWoodsen, which makes you a bit of a legend over at Constance...or so the girls say. But even though I love the gossip, I feel like I'm above them somehow... especially with all of this to keep up with." she said as she continued with her business, pouring a cappuccino for Serena in between everything.

"Thanks. Well I might be able to help you with some of it. I have a few connections I might be able to make among some people I know...but it could take a bit of convincing. Anyway if you need help right now, I'd be willing to lend a hand. So which do you like better, fashion or coffee?" Serena asked, a bit bemused as she sipped her drink.

"Well actually I'd rather design...but anyway...do you know anything about coffee?" Sage asked.

"Well...I like to drink it..." Serena admitted sheepishly.

"All right...I'll play barista and you can work the sales counter. It shouldn't be tremendously difficult for you, though if you have any questions, just ask." Sage replied as she led Serena to the sales counter and put her to work.

Xoxoxo

Meanwhile over at the Equestrian Club, the ceremony and auction had just began and the fine pieces of horseflesh were trotted out to the awaiting audience. For the most part the auction was going without incident, when suddenly Iman's family's horses were brought out. It was then that the bidding started, and Bart suddenly went to interrupt the proceedings.

"I would like to interject. These horses are not meant to be part of the public auction! They were part of a private deal made between the breeder's family and myself..." he interrupted, bringing in some of his security guards as well.

"I'm sorry uncle Bart, but the deal has been rescinded. I've decided to make a deal with a another client who will respect my wishes for the future of my horses. And that client certainly isn't you." Iman replied as she stepped forward as she stopped Bart in his tracks.

"And who is this client? I'll pay top dollar. Money is no object." Bart replied slightly desperate.

"My client wishes to remain anonymous. She said that it would be in her best interest to do so." Iman replied.

"She, hm? I think I can guess who that might be..." Bart replied, spotting his son's friend Blair Waldorf off to the side. Deciding to see if he was correct, he pulled his son, Chuck off to the side and began drilling him with questions.

"Charles...I would like to know what you know about this? Did you know of or have any part of this deal Blair Waldorf has apparently brokered behind our backs with Iman? You know my opinion on you having a relationship with that young woman and her irresponsible and irrational behavior. And you remember what I'd said about you having a continuing relationship with Bass Industries if you continue to associate with her." Bart fumed angrily at his son.

"Yes I know, dad, but let me talk to her first. I know I have some persuasive techniques I can use with her." he replied, smugly.

"I'm sure you do...and by the look of it I can imagine what they are. Still if you want to retain your tentative hold on your position at Bass Industries...you can't take your eye off the prize." Bart admonished him sternly, intimidating his son ever so slightly.

"Yes, father...I'll get to the bottom of it." he rotely replied as he sought out and found, Blair.

Seeing him, Blair pulled him off to the side and hoarsely laughed "We did it! So how do you want to thank me now? I can think of a few ways...or maybe I should thank you?" she seductively replied.

Temptation briefly made him consider it, but he soon regained his composure. "Yes...I would like to know exactly what you did do? Go behind my back and broker your own deal with Iman? My father isn't pleased."

"Oh your father can go back to hell where he came from for all I care. I wish he'd stayed dead so then you'd still be the CEO of Bass Industries and we could..." she muttered under her breath in annoyance.

"My father might be a bastard, Waldorf, but he's still my father. You do not wish someone dead..." he fumed.

"All right...yeah I could bring bad luck down on me. Crap!" she worried a little, then regained her composure "Anyway yeah I did broker a deal with Iman myself because...I'm the one that's the CEO now and so I'm the one with the money..." she replied, brattily.

"Yes...you're the CEO of your mother's company...and you are going behind my back in our business deals." he replied, annoyed.

"What? That's why you're angry? Because I went behind your back? Seriously? Geez...don't turn into some bastard like your father. I can do what I like when I like...I'm an independent woman." she huffed.

"Yes, but you're also married to me and you went behind my back." he huffed back.

"Seriously Chuck, sometimes you're so immature!" she sighed as she walked near one of the horses and went to mount it, as he interrupted.

"I'm...wait what do you think you're doing?" he gasped, slightly angry.

"I bought this horse, so I'm going for a ride..." she declared as she swung her leg across the saddle.

"Blair! I know you just bought this horse, but you shouldn't ride. Not in your condition." he admonished her, feeling genuine concern.

"Chuck Bass is a worry wart? That's surprising. Anyway this is my horse now and I can do what I want...and what I want to do is go for a ride. Have fun with Princess Jasmine for me." she replied as she grabbed the reins from his grasp and galloped off, riding across the paddock and jumping a split rail fence in the process, as Chuck stood there shaking his head and stewing a bit.

After that exchange, Chuck went back to the rest of the event at the Equestrian Club and conversed with his father a bit, then told Iman that he wanted to see her later so that they could discuss the deal he'd wanted to make with her, away from his father and out of the prying eyes of Blair. She agreed and told him she'd meet with him later that evening.

Xoxoxoxo

Back in New York, Serena was just finishing helping Sage with her store, having made several sales on looks and personality alone, when she suddenly got a text message from Steve asking about Sage, and a picture message gossip bomb from Gossip Girl which showed Blair jumping a fence on horseback which a slightly perturbed Chuck Bass looking on. From the look of it, there seemed to be trouble in paradise at the moment, but then again who's relationship was perfect?

"Who was that? My father? If it is, don't tell him I'm here." Sage asked as she wiped down the counter.

Glancing up from her phone, Serena commented, "Uh yeah it is...and I won't. Or at least I'll tell him not to worry because I won't anymore. And I...have to go because he said that he wants to talk to me. So if its okay..." she replied as the other girl interrupted her and added "Oh no problem, S. I have somewhere I need to go to as well so I'll see you later." as she checked her own phone as well with plans of her own.

"Well all right. And I'll make sure to tell some friends I have about your business and we'll spread the word. I'll make sure you're taken care of and that you can get what you deserve." Serena commented.

"Oh I would hope so and truly appreciate it." Sage replied, truly curious to what Serena had up her sleeve now, but still with other plans in mind. Once Serena left, Sage finished at her cafe and went on then to the back and changed into a sparkly designer gown, met up with a few people from that neighborhood and went partying at some of the hottest clubs, where she partied late into the evening at least.

Xoxoxoxo

Back in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, Dan was just coming out of his latest business with Georgina. Meeting her contact from Uzbekistan, which led to someone from Shanghai who was hiding in Chinatown and claimed he was part of the Chinese mafia and first thought Georgina should settle her score with him by having Dan fight a guy named Tung Po in a martial arts pit match to the death.

To bemuse the guy, the two of them went along with it at first, following him into what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, which in reality was a sort of stadium where the audience watched from catwalks above, while the fighters would go at each other on the floor below in the rather dim light of the makeshift arena. Once they actually saw the fighter, Tung Po, a rather tall, muscular asian man, bald, save for an extremely long ponytail, beat his current opponent to within an inch of his life...then tear his heart out, literally...Dan reconsidered his earlier agreement, which didn't surprise Mr Shanghai.

Needless to say though, they got out of there by the skin of their teeth and made it back to Georgina's house with Philip in Park Slope just in time to put Milo to bed. An event Georgina wanted Dan to help them with, even if it made him a bit uncomfortable. Afterwards, the three adults settled into the livingroom, where Philip poured drinks for them while they plotted and schemed what next.

"...So after all of that run around with nearly having Dan fight Tungo Po, which I would've loved to see, I must admit, Shang wants me now to get information on various people in the Upper East Side, including the Vanderwoodsens, Basses, Waldorfs, etcetera. Its at times like these I wish I still had still had that laptop from Gossip Girl that I gave Serena. I wonder if she still has it? Though I doubt she does. Other than her latest adventures with that guy she's with now, Steve, the last place she lived at was the Waldorf's penthouse." Georgina pondered aloud, sipping her cognac.

Hearing that, Dan suddenly was reminded not only of his relationship with Blair, but also the fact that Serena'd had a bedroom of her own there for nearly two years. She'd holed herself up in it so thoroughly during the time he'd been with Blair (which was surprising since he'd thought for sure he'd see her jealous scowl over the breakfast table more often than he had, which was more disappointing than he'd rather admit) and simultaneously been Gossip Girl, then had left so abruptly last Spring, there had to be something left behind. Something beyond her designer shoes, gowns, and handbags. And no doubt something he needed for research for his books...as well as something else. Interrupting Georgina's train of thought, Dan piped up.

"I'll do it. I'll look for what you need in Serena's room at the Waldorf's." Dan said suddenly.

"Really? Are you doing this because you think you can get back with Blair? Or are you genuinely trying to help me with Shang?" she asked.

"The latter...though if the former happens it would be an added caveat...though unlikely because she's such a two face. Anyway, I think I know what you want, so I'll be willing to go there in the guise of friendship and needing a place to stay...then I'll search for what you need." Dan replied, thinking of how to accomplish it.

"Excellent! I'll make a double agent out of you yet, Humphrey. Go in then, and report your findings to me as soon as possible. Plus from the look of it on Gossip Girl and the press, Blair's not having an easy time of it, what with her fashion show fiasco and this latest with Chuck at the Equestrian Show, she might be amiable enough to let her poor, desperate friend, Dan Humphrey bunk over for a night...and accept my...uh, 'our'...advice for repairing her image and whatever else. So that's why I want you to invite me over for breakfast at the Waldorf's tomorrow morning. Do you know what time she wakes up?" Georgina plotted.

"Blair's usually a late sleeper. With her mask and her snoring, crying, and mumbling for Chuck Bass in her sleep. At least that was my experience. I tried to comfort her a few times, but when she called me 'Chuck' that was enough to put me off for awhile." he sarcastically replied.

"Poor girl! So that must be why she was acting strange...Never mind. So she's a late sleeper? Good. Being a mother, I'm used to being up at the crack of dawn sometimes, so just call me as early as you can and I'll come over." Georgina replied.

"I'll remember." Dan replied, as he collected his overnight bag from the spare room Georgina had let him sleep in at her place.

Xoxoxoxo

Over at Steve's suite, he and Serena were sitting down for a relaxing for a chat as soft music played in the background. Slyly, Steve asked Serena about her adventures tracking down Sage and how that went.

"Oh it wasn't bad. I loved being out in the city again and I do think I'm making progress. No temptations befell me as I walked through the streets, other than lust for the latest Jimmy Choos." Serena laughed at the end.

"So a lust for shoe shopping? That's not bad. Any pair you want, I'll get them for you, no problem because you deserve them." he laughed, as he then added. "So is that what you and Sage did then? Shoe shopping?"

"Not quite, but let me reassure you that neither of us has anything to worry about with Sage. There may even be an area of her future that I could help her with, if she lets me." she replied.

"That sounds excellent. Just let me know how it goes and if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Steve replied as he and Serena continued to relax.

Xoxoxoxo

Back at Chuck's suite, he was sitting down to his meeting with Iman in the living room area, both sharing drinks as they made their deal.

"...So to lessen the confusion, I asked you here so we could discuss my purchase of your horses. This deal has nothing to do with the one my father made with you, nor the one Blair Waldorf attempted to make with you earlier today." Chuck commented.

"Oh really? You seemed to take your father's side when you confronted Blair about her deal with me. How should I know that you're not just working for your father?" Iman asked, curiously.

"Because...unlike the deal with my father, your horses will be protected for real this time. No games. And unlike the deal you made with Blair, you get to share in the profits." he replied.

"Really? How so?" she asked.

"Like this. My deal is that I intend to evaluate the horses that you sell me into two categories. For breeding, or racing, or both. With the ones I breed, you get a percentage of the amount I receive on the breeder's fee as well as the sale of any colt or filly created between any of my two horses. For the racing, you will receive a percentage of what I would receive as the owner of a winning racehorse. If you look at the percentages here and potentially how much you could make, you should be well satisfied." he commented, showing her his prospectus portfolio.

"Hm...this isn't bad...and certainly a better deal than what your father offered, as long as you guarantee that the horses won't be harmed or sent to the glue factory." Iman replied, disgusted at the thought of what could have happened if she'd went with Bart's deal.

"Oh yes, they'll be protected. I guaranteed that in the contract I drew up." he offered.

Scanning the contract, she signed it, then bemusedly asked "This contract is so good...I feel like I should offer you something in return...for old time sake." she hinted seductively.

Glancing at her sitting there, looking pretty hot, he was tempted on a very basic level...he was Chuck Bass after all with a libido that wouldn't quit...however he thought of his situation and thought better of it. "As tempting as your offer is...I must apologize that I have to decline. I would rather not do that to Blair...despite our argument today."

"Oh...you're like that then? That's fine, and congratulations on your relationship, Chuck. So is she your girlfriend or fiancée...?" Iman asked curiously.

"Actually...she's my wife. We reunited in Monte Carlo...and decided to marry...though my father doesn't know." Chuck replied, as he blushed a little at the memories he'd made with Blair in Monte Carlo.

"Ah I see. Well congratulations to you two. Perhaps I should cut you a deal on the first horse I sell you." she mused and then added "And if you two are having a lovers quarrel, the best advice I've heard is to never let the sun set on your anger. Apologize, no matter who's fault you think it is, because in any heated discussion, both parties are at fault to some degree." she replied.

"That sounds like good advice. I may just do that soon. Thank you for the suggestion." he replied as he pondered calling Blair.

Xoxoxoxo

At the Waldorf suite, Blair was just settling down for the evening, still thinking about her exchange with Chuck and feeling bad about it, when suddenly Dorota called her to let her know she had a visitor. Hoping it was Chuck, she walked from her bedroom, down the hall and into the foyer of her living room entrance area, only to find an unexpected visitor there.

"Dan Humphrey, what are you doing here?" she asked, slightly annoyingly.

"I...uh...needed a place to stay...and I know you have room...so I just thought I'd crash at your place." he nonchalantly asked.

"Seriously? Well you're certainly not sleeping in MY bed again, Muppet head, you can count on that." she replied defensively.

"Ha ha...I didn't expect it. Though I know you do have other bedrooms here...such as the one Serena slept in..." he hinted.

"Well...if you seriously want to sleep in Serena's room, knock yourself out. Personally I have to get my sleep because I've already had a long day." she sighed as she led him upstairs.

"Really? Care to elaborate?" he inquired, curiously.

"Not right now. I'd rather just think this out on my own." she sighed as she led him to Serena's room and then went to her own and locked the door between. Then she decided to call Chuck to see what he was up to.

Once he was in Serena's room, Dan began to investigate to the fullest. Rifiling through closets and drawers where many of her clothes still were. Her sent was everywhere and soon Dan became distracted and began remembering being with Serena, sex, cuddling, arguments, reconciliations, dates, and the many points of their relationship. It was then that he became distracted and forgot to search for what he wanted or Georgina wanted, but instead sniff Serena's clothes and bedding like a bit of a pervert.

What snapped him out of it though was the fact that he could faintly hear the conversation Blair was having on the phone, apparently with Chuck Bass. Some of their comments caused him to want to roll his eyes, but some of it proved to be quite interesting as well.

Xoxoxo

Lounging on his bed in his pajamas, Chuck was talking on his phone to Blair. He'd wanted the conversation to be intimate, but she may have had it on speaker phone on her end. "So...darling...I thought I'd call you to apologize for today. I'm sorry I yelled at you like that though I was concerned. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine hon...and so is Junior, from what I can tell. I'm sorry I acted like that today too. It was stupid and irrational...but I just had to get it out. So did you ever finish your deal with Iman?" Blair asked, sitting crosslegged on her bed, nonchalantly twirling her diamond ring on her finger.

"Yes she just left recently. We came to a mutual decision..." he began, as she interrupted him.

"Iman was there? At your place? Well I have a guest right now. Dan Humphrey came over and needed a place to sleep so I gave him a bed." she baited Chuck.

"Hopefully it isn't your's." he quipped, slightly jealously, to which she replied "No...but did you sleep with Iman?"

"No!" he barked, as she replied "Good because I didn't sleep with him either. I know better than that, because I love you too much Mr. Bass."

"And I love you too Mrs Bass...all of you. Good night darling..." he mused, as she replied "Good night." as well.

Xoxoxo

Over in Nate's room, he had his own visitor as Sage slipped into his room and bed. "Hm...who do we have here? Did you have a productive day?" Nate asked as he noticed he was no longer alone.

"Yes very much so...but you weren't at the club when you told me you were going to be. Naughty Natey. Though I still have the information you wanted." Sage coyly replied as she showed him the things she'd photographed with her iPhone.

"Ah good job. Well I was swamped at work today, so I couldn't get away. Thanks for the information...and for that and to make it up to you...I have some ideas." he whispered, suggesting his ideas.

"Hm...well if those are your ideas...then I'll have to forgive you for sure!" Sage mused as she went along with them.

Xoxoxo

In the living room of the Humphrey loft, Rufus and Ivy were just finishing with sorting out the boxes that Rufus had. He was tempted to throw them all away and start over, as Ivy said "Oh Rufus, do you really want to throw everything away? You had such good memories."

"Maybe...but I want to make some new memories. Sadly Lily Vanderwoodsen is a thing of the past for me now, so I need to move on and make my own choices for the future." he sighed.

"Oh I know what you mean...still breakups are so difficult sometimes...unless you have someone to help you through the process.." Ivy cooed as she tried to comfort him and that led to a kiss which led to the sofa getting good usage then.

Xoxoxo

Over in Steve's apartment, Serena was sitting up, still awake as she waited on Sage. The fact that the girl still wasn't home made her wonder if she'd been tricked, but ultimately she hoped for the best. Still though she now knew how her mother or grandmother may have felt waiting on her to come home when she was a teenager. Even if sadly Lily had seemed more self centered than anything herself at the time. Which was why Serena had always vowed she'd be a better mother than her own, if given the chance. With Sage so far though, that didn't seem to be going well...but then again tomorrow was always another day.

Xoxoxo

At Georgina's place, she received a call from Dan informing her that he had been able to infiltrate the Waldorf penthouse and was still in the process of digging up information on Serena, but had in the meantime discovered some potentially good information on Blair and Chuck as well. Plus the plans for an ambush brunch at the Waldorfs with Dan, herself, and Blair was definitely a likelihood. With that in mnd, Georgina plotted what to do next.

Xoxoxo

Meanwhile, Chuck tried to fall asleep as he pondered his future and tried to plot his next move in reconciliation with Blair, his business ideas and so on, as well as dreaming about his memories with Blair in Monte Carlo, which kept popping into his head as he faintly heard Nate an his guest from the other room. Oh yes, it was going to be quite the night.


	5. Chapter 5 Monstorous Ball

Monstrous Ball

The next morning, Blair was reluctant to awake because she was having the most wonderful dream, which consisted mainly of memories of her honeymoon with Chuck. '_Remembering how they had literally started to tear the clothes off of each other's backs as they fell onto the bed anxious to get it on. Of course they were both so horny that they hadn't even gotten to the point of complete nudity, when they were already going at it in a sexual frenzy of touch, stroking, thrusting, and moaning. Blair remembered that Chuck had been still wearing his shirt...but had discarded his pants, when he'd first brought her to ecstasy, such that she still recalled glancing toward him and seeing the slice of his heaving, bare chest peeking out from underneath his open shirt as she begged him to do it again...which he of course obliged her with. Going another round, as she helped him divest himself of his shirt first, as they pressed there hot, sweaty, nude bodies together in the dance of sex for round after round...until they both fell asleep. (Where they both found the stamina for their marathon of sex, she didn't know, but it'd sure been fun.)_

_Then Blair's dream became a little strange, as she recalled other times with Chuck, such that she imagined having sex on her mother's piano in their hotel suite in Monte Carlo? Then it was as if they were having sex on the backseat of Chuck's limo...in the hotel room? Then she was having sex with Chuck in several other places she hadn't had sex with Chuck in, though she'd wished at the time that it had been him instead of the guys they had originally been with. _

_Then suddenly she and Chuck were back in Chuck's suite at the Empire, as she seemingly relaxed on the bed, sated and satisfied, as she watched Chuck step out of the shower in his bathroom and towel himself off, rubbing the towel across his bare ass like a chamois, as the water droplets glistened off his bare skin, a sight she suddenly found that to be the sexiest sight in the world, making her hot as she watched a naked Chuck Bass swagger across the bedroom to her. Oh he moved like a panther, and with that sneaky, seductive gleam in his eye, she definitely knew what he had in mind. Her body was so ready, and by the look of it, so was his, as she lay back and waited...' _Right at the moment when she expected to feel the weight and heat of Chuck's bare body pounce on top of her though, Blair suddenly woke up to discover, in dismay that she'd been dreaming the sexy times the whole time that morning and she'd been alone in bed. Finally, she began to recall the events of the previous day, her fight with Chuck, and her somewhat bratty behavior at the Horse show, and suddenly wished that was all a dream instead. 'Oh why did she and Chuck ever have to argue?' Blair pondered, as she hid under her covers.

After a bit though, Blair reluctantly left her bed and decided to take a shower and get ready for the day, or at least breakfast and whatever the day would bring. While in the bathroom, she locked both doors so that no one could disturb her bathtime, especially any guests.

Xoxoxo

Outside Blair's bedroom door, Dan waited until it sounded like the coast was clear. He'd heard her moaning and mumbling Chuck's name in her sleep and had first feared that the basstard had sneaked over to pay her a visit in the night, but from one peak into her bedroom, she appeared to be alone and just dreaming of Chuck. How pathetic! But it certainly wasn't the first time...he knew that for sure first hand.

Nonetheless, he waited until the coast was clear and she'd locked herself in the bathroom, before he did his favorite thing, spy. He thought he knew Blair's room pretty well, especially after their year long friendship and so on, but when he went to look for her collection of diaries, they weren't where she'd hid them...so no more intel into her most recent thoughts, let alone insight into the great stories that were her first early, sexual encounters with Chuck Bass. Now that part of his next book would have to be left up to his imagination and his intrepid memory. (Ah if he'd been smarter, and more blatant then like he felt now, he would've stolen the stories, reworked them a bit, and sold them to Playboy for a tidy profit...because they certainly would've worked there.)

Still riffling through her things, Dan did discover a few interesting bits of information. Airplane tickets and passport stamps from Paris, Monaco and Monte Carlo, dated after her relationship with her ex husband Louis. Folic acid and pregnancy vitamins, dated for after the tragic loss of her previous pregnancy. A man's white tuxedo bowtie. A document that stated that Blair Cornelia Waldorf and Charles Bartholomew Bass had been married at a casino in Monte Carlo...and the piece de le resistance...a 5kt Harry Winston diamond ring on a platinum chain. Based on these clues, Blair was apparently pregnant again and married to Chuck Bass! Ah the gossip bomb that information would be in the right hands...especially if it should leak on Gossip Girl or Nate's paper 'The Spectator'!

Oh the pregnancy was just a guess...or perhaps wishful thinking on Blair's part, and the marriage may or may not be entirely legal, since documents like that could be faked...or Blair's ex husband Louis, the PRINCE of Monaco, could have a say in whether or not it was legal since she'd remarried in Monaco of all places...but the mere fact that Blair was in possession of Chuck's infamous diamond ring had to mean something. Had to be proof of the seriousness of Chuck and Blair's relationship at this point. Knowing that Chuck's father Bart Bass was still not enamored with the idea of Chuck having a relationship with Blair, Dan knew that knowledge of this information about them could prove to be quite useful in the future...and definitely something he thought that Georgina would love to know too.

Quickly, Dan whipped out his smart phone and snapped a few photographs of the various items he'd found, the pills, the marriage license, the ring, etc., but suddenly he heard a sound coming from the bathroom. Blair was unlocking the door between her bathroom and her bedroom and would be entering her bedroom in moments. In a panic, Dan scooped the ring up, chain and all, and slipped it into his pocket, before slipping out the bedroom and into the hall, closing the door behind him. Walking down the hall, he pondered at what to do with the ring after showing it to Georgina.

Absentmindedly, he day dreamed of rescuing Serena from her current boyfriend...or male lover as the case may be...and proposing to her with that ring. She surely would be impressed with a sparkler like that and would obviously say yes. Serena certainly wouldn't be ashamed at wearing a bourgeoisie trinket such as that in public, unlike Blair apparently was. Ha! Dan was smug then as he made his way downstairs, just as his phone rang and he was alerted to the fact that Georgina on her way up the elevator to meet him for their brunch.

Blair, meanwhile, was just walking into her bedroom after her shower, pondering about her issues with Chuck and her plans for the day ahead. She began checking through her closet for an outfit to wear, but before that, she glanced at her dressing table and sensed that despite the fact that it looked like everything was in order, something wasn't right. She might be upset, but her senses were on alert nonetheless, as she glanced at her dresser and noticed that her ring was missing. In a subtle panic, Blair began to search her room for her ring, taking a few minutes as she checked under and around all of the bottles of imported perfume, toiletries, costume jewelry, papers, and other items that had accumulated on her dressing table. Then she checked the floor and the surrounding area around the dressing table in an all out hunt for the ring.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the dining room of the Waldorf penthouse, Dan greeted Georgina and then went right to work telling her what he'd learned since spending the night.

"So Dan, spill the beans. Did you get anything good to use towards blackmail on Blair and Chuck? Or Serena? Or anyone else?" Georgina slyly asked, as she buttered her toast and took a sip of her black coffee.

"Well...perhaps...yeah I found something good...though it'll cost ya." he slyly replied.

"Seriously? I don't have time for your games..." she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"All right then...check this out. Most of what I found snooping in Blair's room and Serena's old one..." he slyly replied, slipping her his phone to check out the photographs he'd taken.

Pondering a bit, Georgina examined the photographs on his phone, one by one, chuckling to herself when she was done. "Ha ha...well apart from the ones of you getting into Serena's underpants...literally...your photographs are quite interesting. You do know documents like that one in particular can be faked quite easily, don't you? Otherwise, good work. Although I wish you could have gotten a better photograph of that ring..." Georgina mused, as Dan chuckled in reply.

"I can do one better...how about the real thing?" he whispered, as he began to take the ring out to show Georgina, but was soon interrupted by someone descending the stairs to join them for breakfast.

"Dan? Georgina? What are you two doing at my breakfast table?" Blair asked, slightly annoyed.

"I...stayed over...don't you remember? And Georgina came to join us." Dan replied.

"I...see...And what month is this?" Blair asked cautiously.

"Month? Why it's October...Blair..." Georgina replied wryly.

"And the year?" Blair added, suddenly feeling a flutter of movement from her baby, and subconsciously placed her hand across her belly, as she felt a bit like she was in the Twilight Zone. It was October, she was pregnant, and Dan Humphrey was at her breakfast table? Was she still engaged to Louis Grimaldi and pregnant with his baby? Had her reunion with Chuck in Monte Carlo and the past few months, if not year, all been...a dream?

"Year? Ha...did you hit your head or something? It's 2012...or were you _expecting_ us to say 2011?" Georgina teased wryly.

"No! Although if it was, I would perhaps be making several different choices in my life from here on out. Anyway, why are you here, today?" Blair demanded, still curious to why they were even there.

"Don't you remember, Blair? I needed somewhere to sleep last night because my father is dating Ivy and

you said you wanted to take down Sage because she wrecked your fashion show a few weeks ago. And then you were telling me something about you, Chuck, and a horse show...?" Dan replied, refilling her in on all of the latest gossip and events.

"Oh yes...I remembered now...and you brought Georgina in on it too?" she asked cautiously.

"You know you still owe me, Blair." Georgina replied saucily.

"I do? Ah...all right lets get it over with...although what do you suggest?" Blair replied as Georgina launched into a few of her ideas, as the trio hashed them out together over the breakfast table.

xoxoxo

Meanwhile, back at the Empire Hotel, Chuck Bass was readying himself for a ten o'clock meeting across town concerning Bass Industries, when he received a message from Gossip Girl that said that Georgina Sparks had been seen entering the Waldorf penthouse that morning, and that Dan Humphrey had been seen entering it the night before.

Angered, Chuck stalked over to his liquor cabinet and began to pour himself a drink. Was Blair losing hr mind and going silly again, like last year? One little argument with him and she reverted back to being best friends and more with Dan and Georgina? She was married to himself...but did she consider marriage, even with him, with the same nonchalance as she did with her first brief one to that prince? Ah...one never knew...but he'd keep abreast of the current situation somehow. He brooded on this as he nursed his drink.

Nate walked into the room then, checking his phone as he walked, stopping suddenly when he noticed Chuck at the bar. "Hey man, good morning. Rough night? I noticed you didn't stay over at Blair's or bring her back here with you. Everything...okay?" he asked, curiously.

"Nothing that I'd like to talk about." Chuck growled.

"Well...suit yourself...but let me just say, I saw the latest Gossip Girl post concerning her, and I don't think she's giving up on you that easily. I know I've been wrong before, but I think that now that you two are locked down...more or less...that she's abandoning it all to turn to them. Just wait and see. Anyway...I'm here for you man. I've got your back." Nate attempted to reassure Chuck.

"Thanks..." Chuck replied, as he looked at his drink and decided not to take another sip, at least for the moment.

"Yeah. Oh and I just thought you should know I might not be getting back here until late tonight...so if you have anything planned to rekindle the old fires with Blair...I won't disturb you." Nate replied, continuing to check through his phone's day planner.

"Hot date or working late trying to capture Gossip Girl?" Chuck mused, his mood lightening slightly.

"Ha ha...I AM almost on her trail, I swear, but no it isn't Gossip Girl or business for the Spectator tonight. No, Sage's cotillion is tonight and she asked me to be her date or escort to it...so that's where I'll be." Nate mused.

"Cotillion? You still love them young...or well seasoned." Chuck teased slightly.

"Ha...yeah I know. Though I guess that's what you get for being a nice guy. Third time's the charm though, aye. Ha, Chuck...do you remember Serena and Blair's cotillion and the fight I got into with Baizen? Fun times, fun times. And especially fun times for me...cos that night was the first time I slept with Blair." Nate chortled, recalling fond memories from cotillions past.

"Yes...I remember it well..." Chuck replied, suddenly becoming morose once more as he remembered the broken heart he'd gotten for the first time that night.

"Hey I'm sorry man...I didn't know! I didn't know you and Blair had already had a good thing going on. Hey...that's it! Maybe you can go to the cotillion tonight too, or at least tell Blair to meet you there cos isn't she on the committee that sponsors the cotillions...on behalf of Eleanor Waldorf Designs or something?" Nate suggested, thinking on his feet.

"Yes...she is. I don't know how I'd forgotten that. Sweep her off her feet...but of course. Thanks for the advice." Chuck replied, brightening a little as the idea began to appeal to him more and more.

"No problem, man, no problem." Nate replied, as he went on with his day.

Xoxoxoxo

Over at Steven's apartment, where Serena was living at now on a semi-permanent basis, Serena was getting ready for her day of checking out a few businesses in the neighborhood for their sales potential as well as self improvement on a more physical level, interspersed with a bit of refreshments. Or in other words, a day of shopping, eating, and getting pampered at her favorite luxury day spa, for herself and Sage, to help her near-step daughter prepare for her cotillion that night.

As she was eating a quick breakfast, Serena was soon interrupted by Steve and his concerns.

"Serena...you almost forgot these...you know that I don't want you to forget..." he said, handing her the vial of pills that he had in his hand.

"Oh...yes of course...I need to take them every day to feel strong and vital and to be able to resist temptations in the city, so that I don't relapse and have to return to your clinic...I know the drill..." she sighed, downing several of the pills he handed her. "By the way what _is _in these?"

"Just ginko biloba and a few other herbs. It's all natural, so you don't have to worry about them..." he said, slightly distracted as he changed his tone to a much more conciliatory one. "and I only want you to take them because I care. I worry about you Sabri—Serena and what you could get up to in the big city. I don't want you to fall prey to certain...temptations out there...because I think I'm falling in love with you." Steve added, making her hopefully more sympathetic to his requests.

"Really? Thank you...I think I am too...so now I understand again." Serena sighed as she suddenly felt a strange rush pull across her head and flow through her body, as she blinked and suddenly felt the effects of Steve's suppliments rush through her body already.

Noticing the subtle change in Serena, Steve asked in a quiet voice "Are you okay, darling? Just sit down for a moment here." as he helped her sit on the nearest stool at his kitchen's breakfast bar.

"Yes...I'm fine...just a bit dizzy...but it's not something I haven't felt before." she chuckled under her breath, as she attempted to right herself.

"That's only natural...Anyway what do you have planned for the day today? Staying around here? Visiting my office? Shopping?" he curiously asked.

"Shopping...at all my favorites on Fifth Avenue...then a stopping at my favorite day spa for mani-pedis and massages for myself...and your daughter Sage, since her cotillion's tonight...at 7 PM...remember to be there on time, since parents are supposed to be at their daughter's cotillions...and I was so hurt that my father couldn't make it..." Serena sighed, as she suddenly recalled her past hurts involving her family.

"Yes...your father...I know Serena I know..." he comforted her with a hug, then added "You remember what I told you about letting go of past hurts? Just let them go...like a plastic bag dancing in the wind. Nonetheless, thanks for reminding me of Sage's dance. If you need any money for her dress, you can always use my black Amex card...though you probably already have one of your own." he said, taking out his wallet, then putting it back.

"Thank you, Steve...but yes, money is no object, so Sage's gown is on me..." Serena replied, giving him a little kiss of reassurance.

Xoxoxoxo

Back at the Waldorf penthouse, a sneaky trio was still gathered around the table, plotting their next moves for later that day.

"I have an idea for Sage...and her cotillion tonight...if you want to hear it." Dan interjected aloud.

"You do? So what are your ideas? Spill it Humphrey..." Georgina asked, demandingly.

"All right...uh Blair do you remember the Snowflake Ball, back in our senior year of high school at all...and what happened to Vanessa?" he asked, curiously.

"The Snowflake Ball?" Blair paused as she tried to remember. "Uh...the only thing I remember about then was the crazy deal I'd made with Chuck about finding the cosmic twins of each other and bringing them to the dance instead...and then our doubles hooked up...leaving Chuck and I to our own devices...Mmm hmm..." she pondered, suddenly recalling some pleasant memories from that time. "Yeah...it was a fun time...indeed...until we learned the tragic news about Bart...then...Ohmigod...poor Chuck..." she cried. "I just...uh...I HATE Bart Bass, now...oh how I hate Bart Bass..." she fumed, mumbling under her breath.

"Oh...yeah I'd forgotten that was when Bart had...uh sorry." Dan fumbled, trying to regain his point. "I...uh...only brought it up...because of what had happened to Vanessa there. How Jenny, and your minions had tricked Vanessa into wearing a see through gown when she'd arrived at the Snowflake Ball as Nate's date. So I figured...with you running a fashion design house now, it should be really easy for you to find a dress like that..." he suggested then.

"Oh...Ugly Duckling At The Ball...great scheme, and considering it was Vanessa, I'm surprised I wasn't in on it at the time...but I guess I was too wrapped with other things. Yeah that would work with Sage...I'll just have to make a few calls around. Does anyone happen to know if she's bought her dress yet?" Blair asked, with a sigh.

"According to Gossip Girl, Sage and Serena are shopping right now...supposedly for Sage's cotillion dress...although why they're shopping at Barney's...?" Georgina replied, pondering sarcastically.

"I have no idea...We should direct them to one of my...mother's stores, and we can set something up...but we need to anonymously let Sage know...of a special sale going on at Eleanor Waldorf Designs Fifth Ave store only." Blair replied.

"Why don't you just have Gossip Girl instant message her...privately." Dan suggested.

"That would work...but who has connections with Gossip Girl like that? She's been very snarky and rather aloof lately as it is..." Blair pondered aloud.

"Uh...don't worry about Gossip Girl...I'm sure she'll help us with this one. Anyway...what were you saying about hating Bart Bass? I used to think he was your stereotypical, scum of the earth businessman...but now I just think he is misunderstood." Dan replied nonchalantly.

"Misunderstood? Bart Bass misunderstood? Ha...I once thought so...but not anymore! He's a low down...urgh! What he did to Chuck by faking his death...the emotional scars Chuck's been left with...urgh! And DO NOT get me started on his meddling now! Hating me! Making Chuck think that he still has to prove that he's worthy of his love. Making it so that Chuck and I can't..." Blair fumed.

"So _Bart _is the reason why you and Chuck aren't...?" Dan pondered aloud.

"DON'T...either of you! I don't want to talk about it..." Blair angrily replied, cutting Dan off before he or Georgina said anything more. "That said...either of you haven't happened to have seen a piece of jewelry laying around, have you?" she asked of them.

"No...what type of jewelry, Blair? Is it costly?" Georgina asked, curiously.

"Well...yes you could say so." she replied.

"Any...diamonds?" Georgina added.

"Yes of course..." she replied.

"Did you lose that necklace Chuck gave you once?" Dan coyly added.

"Chuck did give it to me...but it's not the necklace you're thinking of. I know exactly where my Erickson Beaman is...I think. Anyway this necklace is just a platinum chain with a...diamond on it. I would certainly hate to lose it." she replied.

"Oh yes...well, we'll help you look for your necklace, Blair...if you'll help us with a few projects we have in mind, too." Dan replied.

"And we'll even assist you in dealing with your issues with Bart Bass, if you let us." Georgina added, as Blair replied "Really? Fine, then, its a deal."

xoxoxo  
Chuck went on with his day, planning on his possible interception with Blair later that night, but first he had to take care of a few issues in reference to the business he had with his father, as well as researching into any of his father's business to discover if the newly resurrected Bart Bass had had any shady businesses prior to his infamous 'demise' in late 2008, let alone during the three and a half years that he'd been supposedly dead. So far, other than the business with Amira and her family's buildings and Iman and her family's horses, which led to an underground animal processing plant, there wasn't else tremendously scandalous...yet. Chuck felt that he was somehow on the verge of a breakthrough in his investigations, but so far he just needed a bit more time and a few more clues. Still, he didn't really have all the time in the world since there was his heir growing inside of his wife at that very moment, which would be making its presence known very soon. Thus, time was of the essence.

Not wanting to break form with his parents ( such as they were) Chuck knew that he had to stay on their good sides by continuing to play the mostly obedient son, which meant keeping appointments with them. So when Lily texted him to let him know that she wanted to meet up with him soon for lunch and to catch up during her shopping spree, Chuck rode across town to meet her.

"Charles...you did come! I'm so glad that you were able to spare the time, what with your no doubt busy schedule and all." Lily replied as she greeted her son at the store she was at.

"For you, Lily, I'll always make time." Chuck said slightly bemused.

"Thank you. Well the reason for this meeting was to catch up with you and see how you're doing after yesterday's incident at the country club and ask if everything is all right. Also I was able to gain some more information about your father which you may find interesting to say the least." Lily replied, stating her brief reasons for the meeting.

"I'm doing well...health-wise...but first the information about Bart." Chuck replied in a clipped tone, as he was eager to get down to the business at hand, as far as his investigation into his father's past activities went, rather than dealing with his feelings right away.

"Well, from what I can gather, apparently horses weren't the only dealings your father had with Iman's family. I overheard a conversation that Bart was having with someone on the phone, and according to his call record, it was someone associated with the Arabian accounts out of Dubai. I'm not exactly sure what it entails, but I just thought I'd let you know. And here's the phone number to this anonymous person, who Bart happens to have a meeting with, tonight at seven at the Palace Hotel, Suite B. For some reason they're meeting in amongst the guests at the latest debutant ball. Why, I have no idea, unless the man he's meeting with has a daughter who's making her debut in society there tonight?" Lily replied, recounting the information that she knew and handing Chuck the telephone number.

"Thank you, Lily. Your cooperation is most appreciated." Chuck suavely replied, pocketing the phone number as soon as he was handed it. "If there's anything I can do in repayment, all you have to do is ask."

"Well I could ask you to treat me to lunch, but I won't force you to. Still, what I would like is for you to be honest with me about how you're doing. I saw the argument you had with Blair, and know that it wasn't pretty. Is everything all right between you two?" she asked, curious and concerned.

"If I'm to be honest...no, I'm not fine. I'm...worried that I became angry again...and it's my fault for ruining our relationship, again. Yes, she may have had a part in it too, but I should have been the man and apologized for the argument earlier. We spoke last night on the phone, but we're still not perfect yet." Chuck sighed, being honest again for once.

"Oh Charles...relationships are never perfect, so you needn't be discouraged that despite becoming an adult, everything isn't perfect yet. To be honest, nobody's relationship is perfect...I know all of mine haven't been...but they're something that take work from both parties. You've made your effort, so let Blair make her's." Lily replied.

"All right I will, and thank you. Another thing though, what about my relationship with my father? Why doesn't he seem to want...me...or the people I love?" Chuck sighed, rather forlorn.

"Oh Charles...your father...I don't know. Bart is a tough nut to crack. I'm sure he still loves you deep down inside...but the reasons for some of his actions, especially in his treatment of you and Blair, I have no idea. Nonetheless, rest assured that you still have people who love you...if you only notice." Lily sighed as she reached up and reassuringly stroked his cheek, seeming to nearly wipe away a stray tear that had slipped from his eye.

"Thank you Lily..." Chuck mumbled, his voice momentarily becoming hoarse with emotion.

"No problem, my dear. And if you ever need anything else, money, advice, and so on, I'm just a phone call away." she replied, with a reassuring smile, as she went on. "Well, all of this talk has made me famished. Let's get a bite to eat before we go our separate ways." she suggested as the went to a nearby cafe.

Xoxoxo

On Fifth Avenue, Serena and Sage were shopping for the perfect gowns for Sage's cotillion that night, as well as reminiscing about the past. Or at least Serena was.

"Can you tell me anything about cotillion? I can't believe my father is making me go to this high school dance, when I feel so much more mature than that." Sage sighed as she looked at various dresses on the racks. "At least I get to go with Nate."

"Yeah...indeed. Ha ha cotillion...yeah I remember my cotillion and how much I didn't want to go either...though my grandma CeCe wanted me to. She said it was a tradition my mother had avoided, but she didn't want me to miss it. So I went...and ended up with Dan as my date, after my escort got into a fight." Serena mused as she checked out a variety of designer dresses too.

"Really? That sounds pretty...dramatic. Does that happen often at these dances?" Sage mused.

"Ha ha...no not usually. I think that was a rare occurrence. Anyway, let's try on some of these. I think this Versace would look good on you...while this dress would be perfect...for me." Serena suggested, holding up a white gown for Sage and darker, sexier gown for herself.

"Oh thanks. Do the girls usually where white?" Sage asked as she took the gown from Serena while walking toward the dressing rooms.

"Well traditionally...although I wore a gold gown to mine. Either way I just thought this dress would be a good start..." Serena nonchalantly replied as she entered her dressing room area.

Sage was in her dressing room, unzipping the gown Serena had chosen for her after just hanging it on a hook, when she suddenly received an anonymous text message from Gossip Girl, indicating a secret sale on cotillion gowns going on at the Fifth Avenue location of Eleanor Waldorf Designs. It even said that whoever arrived there in the next fifteen minutes and was the '5,000th customer' would be eligible for a free gown. Thinking that it sounded like too good of a deal to pass up, Sage ditched Serena and ran off to the Eleanor Waldorf Designs boutique that was just around the corner.

Arriving there, Sage was soon greeted by a pair of over eager sales girls who looked vaguely familiar, yet she couldn't place them entirely. Especially since one seemed to be wearing a blond, page boy wig, and the other a pair of tortoise shell glasses.

"Ah a customer! We knew our ad on Gossip Girl would bring in the customers!" the blond exclaimed in a slight Russian accent.

"And wouldn't you know she's our 5,000th customer! Congratulations you just won a free gown!" the other young woman exuberantly exclaimed, talking with a slight French accent.

"Really? That's great! So I get a free gown...does that mean I can have the pick of the store?" Sage replied, glancing around the rather upscale boutique.

"Mmm...yes and no. The free gown also includes a free design consultation and makeover if necessary...and by the look of it, it's necessary. Don't you think so, Zorzie?" the French girl with the glasses replied, turning to her associate.

"Da...I think so! So the first step with be a facial and a massage...by our colleague from the old country...Madame Dorota...so come come..." the Russian blonde replied as both she and the other girl led Sage in the back to meet Madame Dorota, who proceeded to insist that Sage strip down and lay on the massage table she had set up. Sage, to be honest, didn't know what to think...but if Waldorf Designs was now a full service spa, why not go along with it since it was free.

After the massage, the team at Waldorf Designs proceeded to wash, cut, and style her hair, makeup her face, and give her several gowns to try on, until they settled on a silver sheath that the two sales girls told Sage made her look like a Roman goddess. With that in mind, Sage soon left the store with her free dress and beauty products, feeling like a million bucks, as unbeknown to her, the two sales girls laughed behind her back at how well their little prank had worked and how it'd be even better that night at the cotillion.

Xoxoxo

The day progressed until finally it was time for the cotillion's guests to begin to arrive. Most of them arrived with their families by limousine or town car, as the beautiful location, a ballroom at the Palace Hotel, began to fill up with young debutants, their escorts, and their families. Certain, particular guests began to slip in virtually unnoticed, since they were young adults themselves. Blair had arrived as the third in a trio with Georgina and Dan, their scheme against Sage mostly on her mind, as she let Dan play gentleman and near date, and handed him her coat to take to the unattended coat check area, while she scoped out the crowd and waited for Sage, and her family, consisting of Serena and Steven, to arrive.

She was only standing there a moment, when Dan suddenly approached her and with a snarky air asked, "So, did you ever find that necklace you were looking for?"

"My necklace?" she stammered, suddenly upset again over the loss. "No...why did you ask?"

"Oh...just because...look what I found..." he teased pulling the ring out of his pocket and dangling it precariously by the chain that it hung on.

"My ring! What are YOU doing with it? Give it to me!" she gasped, trying to snatch it from his hand before too many people saw it.

"Ah ah...not yet, Gollum...First, I'd like to know what are you doing with it? Did Chuck Bass give it to you? Are you engaged to him now? And if so, why are you hiding it on a chain?" Dan asked, teasing, yet badgering her with questions.

"Its mine. Yes, Chuck gave it to me, though we're not exactly engaged...and why I'm not wearing it, is complicated...and none of your business!" she exclaimed, trying to reach for the ring again, which he held just out of her grasp.

"Ah so you say... well it's quite the sparkler...certainly set someone back a pretty penny. Should be worth it too...to the right people. I should just keep it for myself, and sell it to use the proceeds to create a scholarship at NYU's writer's program under my name. Or tell Bart Bass about your complicated relationship with his son, Chuck, using this as evidence. Or wait until the right moment to I put it on Serena's finger. She'd be happy to wear such a bourgeoisie thing as this." he taunted even more.

"You wouldn't dare!" she gasped, slightly scared as he chuckled at her.

"Ha try me!" he challenged one last time, before she snatched the ring from his hand and slipped it into her purse.

"You are a first class idiot. It's my ring, and I could have you arrested for theft, you know." she fumed.

"Well you have your precious ring back, now. Anyway, I haven't seen Serena's entourage yet. Text me or G when you do." he pouted as he left the scene to find Georgina.

In the meantime, Blair didn't see Serena, but who did she see swagger into the room but Chuck Bass. The crowd seemed to part for him as he walked across the room toward her with his trademark devilish smirk on his face as he approached her, causing her to grin as well.

"Hm...fancy meeting you here, Chuck. Did you come to apologize...or for something else?" she asked, haughtily teasing.

"I came with my father and Lily, for business, but it could also be pleasure." he seductively replied.

"Mm...pleasure, I bet." she replied, sensing in Chuck that his desire for pleasure was equal to her own.

"So...what was that exchange you had with your little friend? Are you slumming back to him now? And was that my ring he was holding?" Chuck asked, his voice filled with sexually enhanced jealousy.

"He's nothing. He needed a place to stay, so I let him." she replied haughtily.

"In your bed?" he asked.

"No...that spot is now reserved only for my swans down pillows...or you..." she purred.

"And the ring?" he asked, his face a hares breath from her own.

"He stole it from me...threatened to give it to Serena..." she whispered, tilting her face even closer.

"Hm...we can't have that, can we?" he said in a voice that was low a dripped with seduction.

"No...we can't..." she mewed in reply, rubbing her nose against his in a way that made him groan under his breath as they tilted their faces for a kiss they both ached for. Blair knew that apart from his penis, Chuck's broad, rather large nose was one of the most sensitive parts of his body, so she knew if she rubbed her nose against his, it would turn him on and likely force a kiss. (Ha, if he could get her off with just his nose and mouth when he went down on her, and he liked when she kissed his nose to practically the point of going down on it while they had sex in bed, then just rubbing her nose against his usually worked well to initiate a kiss or more.)

They were nearly at the point of a kiss, when they both heard the voice of Bart Bass behind them, exclaiming something to someone, and that broke the mood and suddenly remember where they were and their argument from the day before.

Breaking apart, they both began to murmur apologies, but were soon interrupted by acknowledgment that Serena and Steven had entered the room and that the introductions of the debutants was starting soon. Everyone stepped into place then as the young girls were introduced with their escorts. Everything seemed to be going well even as Sage was introduced along with her escort, the incomparable Nate Archibald. Nate looked dashing, of course, and Sage was beautifully, if slightly unusually dressed with her choice of hair and makeup. Still nothing seemed to be ary, until the spotlight that was supposed to be shining on them did and revealed that Sage's unlined dress showed everything under it when strong lights hit it, revealing the barely there thong bikini she was wearing, as well as the fact she was nearly bra-less. Then to add further embarrassment, the spotlight was changed to a black light, revealing that Sage's makeup and hair glowed strangely neon in the dark.

People began to chuckle under their breaths at the spectacle, as the entire thing was captured and preserved for posterity and Gossip Girl. Nate though had been through several embarrassed girlfriend situations before, so he didn't let her leave, even if she wanted to, as they strolled across the dance floor and took it all in stride, clearly owning the moment. Still even if Nate was able to help Sage recover some amount of dignity, it didn't mean other people weren't angry or embarrassed.

Stalking angrily toward Blair, Serena approached her with questions galore. "Blair, did you have any part in this? Sage came home with that makeup and dress, saying that she'd won it at your mother's store. Then when she wears it here, THAT happens? I can't believe you!"

"Well...she ruined my fashion show...so I thought it was only fair revenge to embarrass her at her cotillion. And it obviously worked." Blair laughed then.

"Blair! Sage is only a teenager, though I agree she should've known better, but you...you're an adult! You run your own company...you were once married...you definitely should've known better. Steven and I are appalled." Serena angrily replied.

"Well...Rome wasn't built in a day...but since when have any of your boyfriend's opinions mattered more than your own? You once thought social embarrassment was hilarious... especially when used as revenge." Blair countered.

"Yeah maybe when I was twelve...but not anymore...I've grown up and I seriously think its time you did too, B." Serena sighed as she turned away from Blair and went to talk to Steven, who seemed upset himself.

"Serena, your friend is an idiot, targeting my daughter like that. I want you to find a way to make sure my family isn't embarrassed anymore. And make sure my little girl is covered up." Steven fumed under his breath as Serena sighed.

"All right, I'll see what I can do. Let me make a couple of calls." Serena sighed as she called the New York headquarters of Vogue and asked them to deliver something new over, which they did, bringing an embellished gray tunic and white pilozzo pants. They might be a unique style for a cotillion, but they would certainly work at making sure Sage was well covered.

Xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile off to the side, just outside of the ballroom where the cotillion was taking place, was a men's room that was definitely occupied, although his son didn't know it. Chuck entered the restroom, after having drunk one too many glasses of champagne in his effort to cool his ardor for Blair, when he suddenly realized that his father, Bart was in the other side of the room talking on his cell, oblivious to anyone else. Stealthily, Chuck ducked into a stall near where Bart was standing, rather than using the urinal, and listened carefully as he tried to relieve himself as quietly as possible.

"All right, you'll be able to supply me with one thousand kilos by tomorrow...or else you know what it'll mean. And if you try anything funny...you'll be met with resistance because I'm well protected." Bart said as he talked on the phone.

"Fine. You drive a hard bargain. For payment, you can expect 150 straight from Thailand...just the way you like. Delicate and untouched. A deal is a deal. Just watch for the crates labeled 'Umbrellas' and you'll get what you need." Bart replied after a bit more conversation from the person on the other end of the line.

Eventually Bart left, leaving Chuck alone to ponder on what he'd overheard his father discussing. What was Bart shipping and to where? The kilos obviously stood for some type of drugs. Heroin, cocaine, marajuana, meth ingredients, any of it could be possible. That his father might be dealing in drugs was no surprise on some level. It was what Bart used as payment was the area in question.

One hundred fifty delicate and untouched umbrellas seemed ridiculous, so obviously it was a cover. Remembering the description, Chuck suddenly vaguely recalled a conversation he'd had with Blair years earlier, and how he'd sarcastically described her virgin state as being 'delicate and untouched.' Guessing that Bart's train of thought may veer in the same direction, Chuck could only think that his father was potentially trading 150 virgins from Thailand to someone somewhere for a thousand kilos of drugs? It certainly sounded illegal and definitely something he'd have to investigate further if he was ever to unravel the mystery that was his father's sudden return. With that in mind, Chuck soon left the hotel and went back to his place to further investigate.

Xoxoxo

Back in the cotillion, Serena and Blair seemed to still be huffily ignoring each other, or at least trying to, when suddenly Gossip Girl let loose a video she'd compiled of Serena's most memorable moments, from her video when Pete died, to her makeout with Tripp in the elevator, to her sextape with Dan, to her embarrassing pass out on the train, to her and Nate grilling Tripp about the accident from a year ago. Most of it were embarrassments to Serena that Blair knew about, except for the last incident where Tripp was found guilty of the car accident. That hit an unexpected nerve in Blair and she approached her former friend more than a little upset.

"Serena, you _knew _and you didn't tell me? The car accident that killed my...baby...and nearly killed Chuck...was Tripp's fault? You let me go through with thinking it was a sign from God...and let me marry Louis...and everything else...and you didn't stop me?" Blair bellowed aloud.

"I...tried to but you didn't listen! You were on your own tangent last year...and sometimes I didn't want to hurt you...right after..." Serena stammered.

"Well maybe you should have! Maybe...I wanted you to be a woman of action and put a stop to it...instead of being a lackadaisical wimp or a pushover drip like Humphrey." Blair exclaimed adding "Maybe I needed a best friend who was really a crazy bitch like me?"

"Blair!" Serena gasped as Dan interrupted "Blair that's enough. Why don't you just go before you hurt anyone else, okay?"

"All right, fine, I will. I don't need any of you anyway." Blair said, attempting to cover her tears with anger as she left the hotel and went someplace where she hoped to be accepted.

Meanwhile, Serena gasped "Dan, thanks, but you don't have to interfere with my arguments with Blair. I can handle myself." as she sat on a chair that he'd pulled out for her.

"Hey when she started insulting both of us, I couldn't help but feel compelled to intervene. No one gets away with insulting us both, especially Blair Waldorf." he replied, adding "So did you and Nate really with hold that information about Tripp Vanderbilt from Blair and Chuck?"

"Yeah I guess so. Last year was such a mess, for many of us, then the accident happened and Chuck was still injured...and Blair married Louis...and you really didn't help the situation...and anyway I guess it just slipped my mind to tell them. I didn't mean to, it just happened." Serena sighed, subconsciously leaning against Dan as she poured out her heart.

"Yeah...stuff like that happens...and I apologize for my part in it. So yeah, Serena, if you ever need a friend, you don't have to look any farther than your's truly." Dan bragged, as he suddenly realized that what he missed most about his past friends and girlfriends wasn't the sex as much as their camaraderie and desire to think of him as their advice guru and best friend. Though having Serena Vanderwoodsen as a new best friend, beyond Georgina, might prove to be interesting indeed.

"Thanks, Dan. You're truly a good friend." she sighed contentedly, holding his hand in her own.

Xoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, back at his place, Chuck was just starting to investigate further into his father's underground illegal doings, between sets of billiards, when suddenly he realized he had a visitor as he sensed that Blair had walked into the room, with a clack of Louibiton heels and her own perfume, let alone scent that Chuck suspected only he could detect.

Lifting his head up from his pool table, Chuck mused in greeting "Hello Blair, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Not going to tell me the baby isn't mine again are you, because as I told you the last time...when we tried to leave...that it doesn't really matter to me."

"No...nothing like that...though it does interestingly have to deal with that. By the way, did you know that Tripp Vanderbilt was the one responsible for our accident? The one that nearly killed you and did kill my..." she asked, her voice becoming distant at the end.

"Really? I should have guessed. Well I'll have to put a call into somebody about that. Though I know that's a hard thing for you talk about. Still...is that the only thing you wanted to talk about? Right now I'm busy with an investigation..." he replied, setting up another set on the table.

"Yeah I see. Right on the billiards table." she teased.

"I am in touch with a client. Anyway I'd thought that you'd probably want to turn to your other friends from tonight. Georgina, Dan, or even Serena?" he mused jealously.

"Oh after the Tripp bomb, I don't know how close of friends I am with them anymore. Anyway, beyond talking...I came here to finish what we started at the dance. Your father isn't here...no one is...which means we're all alone." she mused, sashaying over to him as seductively as possible, pressing her body against his.

"Blair...I'm busy...I can't lose...focus..." he uncharacteristically stammered, his breathing becoming heavy then for a moment as he tried to resist.

"Oh...I know...but for once...why don't you focus...on me...on us..." she purred seductively, running her one hand against the side of his face, as she ran the other down his chest, to his thigh, and finally to his crotch where she could feel his growing erection under his tuxedo pants as she leaned in for a kiss.

Chuck tried to resist, oh he tried, but his self induced celibacy was becoming too much with a feisty Blair Waldorf rubbing up against him, trying to kiss him. And by goodness she was his wife, so why not? He thought as he gave in to his desires, wrapping his arms around her in a kiss...and before either knew it, it was like that time right after her birthday, but instead of the piano, it was the billiards table that was tested as the soon stripped down what was necessary and climbed on top of the table to have sex. It was fun, quick and slightly dirty as they tried several positions on the table, before continuing in the bedroom right where they left off. Oh yes, it was quite the time indeed and thus neither Chuck nor Blair slept alone that night, for they were together again.


	6. Chapter 6 Where The Vile Things Are

Where The Vile Things Are

The next morning Blair and Chuck were in bed together discussing various things at length, including solving the the business issues they both had, even if their biggest issue had been the argument they'd had which had led to them spending a night or two apart. Together they seemed to function better than apart. They both felt that they slept better when they were together, let alone felt better. Blair would instinctively know when Chuck felt anxiety and would reach out and rub his back or chest or arm or ass or even elsewhere, or play with his hair, etc. and Chuck seemed to instinctively know when to rub her back or shoulders or neck or breasts or elsewhere in a comforting way. Blair instinctively sensed that even her unborn baby liked having daddy close by. (How she knew, she wasn't sure and just sensed it.)

Still there were other times when only the sexy route would do. Laying in bed, mostly naked, Chuck sighed as he talked to Blair about his suspicions concerning his father.

"My father is rather unreasonable. Do you know that he suggested to me that he might give me a new title, with my cooperation in his business." he sighed.

"Really? That should be good, shouldn't it?" she asked.

"Not necessarily. He wants to give me an impressive title, albeit one where he isn't giving up an iota of control. He wants my allegiance and he could have assured it better another way."

"What way?"

"By transferring to me a block of BI stock. Over the summer I was able to procure ten shares again, but that is only ten shares. Other members of the board of directors do as well, except for Lily who owns three hundred and Jack two. All the rest of it, my father owns himself. That's how he keeps absolute control. Absolute control."

"He won't give up control while he's alive...again. We both know that from personal experience. And you know probably shouldn't expect him to."

"No, of course not. But if I held at least ten percent of the stock, I'd feel more secure again."

"Yeah, but he could still fire you, again, even if you held forty percent. Do you really want to risk it? Especially since being successful was a contingency to us going public with our relationship." Blair sighed, trying to cuddle against him, but he was still tense a bit.

"I know...but he might not fire me if he knows I have suspicions on the nefarious businesses he's been up to. If he knows that I have even a suspicion, let alone evidence, that he's been doing a drugs for prostitutes illegal trade in Dubai. Hundreds of prostitutes for kilos of heroin. Or something like that. If he knows that I know and threaten to expose him, he can't fire me." he mused.

"Blackmail? You're going to try to keep your position and your father in line with blackmail? Do you have the evidence that backs it up? And if so, why don't you just expose him for the bastard that he is and get it over with. Then BI would be your's for the taking anyway, wouldn't it?" she coyly asked.

"Yes...and I'm working on it...or I have people who are. Nonetheless, yes, BI would revert back to me on the event of either his imprisonment, or death, unless he changed his will. And again that's something I'm working on obtaining a copy of."

"So you don't have the evidence yet? Which means you can't threaten or blackmail your father and BI is still his...and we're still a secret?" she coyly asked as he groaned aloud.

"I'm still working on it."

"I know...and understand...and you're obviously full of tension. That's why I've got a present for you. Just lie back and loosen up."

She sat up and grabbed her pillow, placing it on his legs and laid her head on it, pressing her face against his belly. "I want to be comfy," she said in a low voice. "I figure on this taking a long time."

She opened her mouth and took his penis between her lips, and he saw what she'd meant by taking a long time. She licked him gently for a minute or so, then stopped licking and began lazily nibbling on the foreskin with her lips, until she heard him react. Then she turned her liquid brown eyes up at him to see his reaction, and smiled at the naughty look of ecstasy she'd brought to his face. She coyly smiled as Chuck began to relax. She bent his penis to one side, gently, so that she could lick along its length without having to lift her had from the pillow as Chuck sighed and groaned contentedly, not thinking on his battle with his father for awhile.

Still going slow was only so satisfying even for Blair, as the act of going down on Chuck began to turn her on as much as him. Especially when she licked him down to his balls, then up again, as she sucked on him and found his most sensitive nerves with just her tongue and lips, until he began to seductively moan and groan even more. Knowing that he was getting close she teased "Don't you dare come, its too soon."

"Too soon?" he moaned, then added "A'right, I'll try not to spoil your fun." jovially.

She seductively chuckled back "Yeah it _is _fun...sort of. Just what you always wanted, your own personal fellatrix. And you seem to love it, don't you?"

He chuckled for a moment, then sighed, gently caressing her head in his hands. "What I love is you, Blair," he said solemnly.

She pulled her mouth off of him then, even if he was entirely erect by this point, and straddled his thigh, leaning down to place a quick kiss on the tip of his erection, before shifting her body up to straddle his waist and impale her body with his. Sliding him in until she felt him inside her body fully, they both let out a low groan, as she sat back on his thighs, fully seated as if to ride him. Running her hands across his sexy, sweaty, hairy chest, she could feel his heartbeat and heavy breathing as she settled her hands on his pecs, and he wrapped his hands around her hips and ass, and she sighed seductively, yet contented.

"I love you too, Chuck. You know how much I love you." she purred as she began to ride him as if she had all the time in the world. They might not really, but they thought they might as well make the most of it while they could and before they started their day.

Afterwards, they both went and took showers, although Chuck beat her to the bathroom and teasingly locked the door, leaving Blair a few minutes to herself in her bedroom, which she used lingering over laying in bed, remembering her time with Chuck. Eventually though, she left bed and began to look through her closet for the perfect outfit for the day, finally picking something. She turned back then toward her bed and spotted her full length mirror, pausing momentarily to look at herself in the mirror, pulling her robe open to examine her nearly nude body underneath, and sighing at what she saw. Even if she felt like she didn't look too bad, the old addage that her mother had once told her was true. Her body had been at its peek of lithe slenderness and youth when she was only seventeen.

Sighing, she ran her hands over the bumps and curves she now saw on her body, sad at the loss of perfection she felt she she now was, when she suddenly heard Chuck's footsteps behind her before feeling his arms wrap around her body and his lips touch her neck in the sensuous way that was all him, as he sensuously purred in her ear.

"Mm...what a delicious picture you present. What are you doing, trying to get me to bend you over on the spot and give you a good fuck in front of the mirror? I'll do it...is now too soon?" he teased pressing his towel clad body against her robe clad backside.

"Ha ha, you wish. No...I was just staring at my imperfections...my body certainly doesn't look like it did when I was a teenager." she sighed.

"A fact I well know, and am glad for. Imperfection? God, you're perfection indeed...from your neck, to your breasts, to hips, thighs, and your ass and your cunt..." he growled, running his hands over every part, though only running his fingers over the small nest of curls at her crotch lightly, intent on returning again, as his hands traveled her body in a sensual quest. "...and your stomach...and..." he growled, pausing suddenly as he lay his large hand against her stomach and his tone changed. "Is that...?"

"My baby? Our baby? Yes..." she sighed nervously.

"Mm...so that's it? I think I did feel something...was it like this the last time?" he murmured.

"Yes...though I was bigger in the end. I just hope..." she sighed, leaning against him.

"It will be fine. I'll pay for the best physicians...our baby will survive..." he adamantly replied.

"Really? A little Chuck Bass Junior, I suppose?" she teased.

"No, better than that. I want him to have it better than I did. Have the things I didn't, a real mother and father. So let's give him the name I used when I tried to escape and transform. Henry Prince." he suggested.

"Henry Prince? Are you serious? Well what if it's a girl? Do you want me to name her, Henrietta?" she teased, then added "No I know. If you want to name it after your alter ego, if it's a boy, then I'll name it after mine, if its a girl. Clair!"

"That would be agreeable, as long as she grows to become the capable young woman I knew she was all along...and doesn't fall for any psuedo-intellectual malcontents in the meantime." he teased.

"I'll see that she doesn't." she replied, jovial for a moment, then becoming a little sad.

"Still sad? I know something that would put a smile on your face." he sensually mused.

"I know...ha ha...but I need to get on with my day. I'm meeting my mother later today and it'll be the first time we've spoken in person since the fashion show fiasco, and I'm afraid of what she'll say. She'll probably think I'm unfit to follow in her footsteps...and take control of Waldorf Designs away from me, just like your father took Bass Industries away from you! If that happens, I do not know what will happen to us?"

Sighing, Chuck paused for a moment and held her from behind, as they stood in front of the mirror, until he spoke. "Blair, I think you'll be fine. Your mother might be tough, but she's nothing like my father. I would be surprised if she took control away from you. However, if that happens...we'll pool our resources and develop a plan for the future, together."

"I hope so, Chuck Bass, because I love you and don't want to have to be separated from you ever again." she sighed, turning around to face him.

"And neither do I, because I love you too." he replied with a quick kiss and an enveloping hug as they held each other for a moment more, before getting along with their day.

Xoxoxo

Meanwhile, over at the Vanderwoodsen-Bass penthouse, Lily and Bart were getting ready for their day, as well as Lily's daughter, Serena. They were all eating breakfast right then, when suddenly someone came into the apartment, via the elevator.

"Dan...this is a surprise. For what reason do we have for you gracing us with your presence? Your father hasn't happened to come along as well, has he?" Lily asked, as she greeted him.

"No...I haven't heard from him in days. I'm here to see Serena. I spoke with her last night after the cotillion and I came again to make sure she's okay." he replied in a slightly condescending, saccharine-like tone.

"Thank you for your concern, Daniel. You do have quite the manners, if they are sincere and not just another Eddie Haskell." Bart replied, sternly.

"Eddie Haskell? Who's that?" both Dan and Serena asked, although to Dan the name sounded vaguely familiar.

"Just a character from the old Leave It To Beaver television show. My parents used to watch it when I was a young child...and I saw it on rerun when I was a child. Eddie Haskell was a rather insincere, scheming child, if I recall. Sweet talked the mother, then blackmailed people, if I recall. Lily, you know what TV show I'm talking about, don't you?" Bart replied.

"Yes, I do. Actually, I tried out for the role of someone's daughter on a version they tried to bring back in the eighties, but I didn't get it. Although if I remembered correctly, I think my mother used to claim that she appeared on the show as somebody's girlfriend in an episode, and even went on to date Tony Dow, who played 'Wally' and Ken Osmond, who played 'Eddie Haskell' when she was a teenager in the 1960s, before she married your grandfather and had Carol and I." Lily replied, laughing.

"Grandma CeCe was on Leave It To Beaver? Grandma CeCe dated Tony Dow and Ken Osmond? Wow, she got around more than I thought!" Serena laughed at that idea, rolling her eyes a bit.

"No wonder CeCe liked me so much..." Dan mumbled under his breath, as Serena overheard and asked "Did you say something Dan? Or did you come here for something else?"

"Well actually..." he began, but Serena interrupted him, speaking to her erstwhile parents "Well, mom, Bart, thanks for the brunch...but I have to get going now. I...have to...look for something in my old room...and have an appointment at the salon at Bergdorf's...and so on." as she excused herself from the table, as Dan stood, making his apologizes and followed Serena as she walked across the penthouse.

"So you wanted to talk? All right, spill. I don't have all day." Serena sighed, crossing her arms across her chest and flipping her long, blond hair to one side, as she cocked one hip, taking on a defensive pose.

Momentarily distracted by Serena's movie star good looks, realizing what a babe she still was, Dan was at a loss for words. But not for long, as he mustered his courage and a huge amount of sympathy as he suddenly acted concerned. "Oh Serena...I just stopped by to see how you are. After last night, I wanted to make sure that you're still okay. I'm sure your argument with Blair left you...rattled...and I just wanted to remind you that you don't have to cope alone."

"Really? Thanks, Dan, I never knew you cared about my relationship with Blair." Serena sighed, softening a little in her opinion of him.

"Oh...yes...I know it's...important..." he said, holding back his real opinions "But still I know that you've been hurt...and that's why I'm laying down an olive branch now...and offering my services in whatever way you need."

"That's really nice, Dan. Surprisingly so in fact. Especially since you seemed to have no qualms about cutting me out of your life earlier this year. And there were those articles you wrote about everyone in the papers." she sighed.

"Well...lets just say that I made a mistake, which I regret now. I was an idiot to claim that I wanted you out of my life like that...when of course I really didn't. As far as the articles...well to me it was like I was

exposing the truth...truth that I'd thought everyone should know about people. And I was trying to think of something entertaining...and there's nothing more entertaining than exposing people's foibles because I swear some of you Upper East Siders have the strangest habits, it's hilarious! And finally...uh...Georgina made me do it." Dan babbled as he tried to think of excuses for his actions on the fly.

"You categorize people from the Upper East Side as having habits, which you find hilarious? And now you're blaming Georgina for your actions? You are not really helping your cause, Dan Humphrey. Not at all." Serena exclaimed as she changed her shoes and her purse and stalked out of her old bedroom, through the apartment, and toward the elevator, with Dan following behind.

"All right, I'm sorry about that, but it is true. All of your trips to the salon and spa and buying dresses that cost as much as what a retail clerk at Barney's makes in a year...and the constant scheming and backstabbing and getting away with near murder at the drop of a hat is ridiculous! Although observing it, analyzing it, and writing about it as a satire is fun...and I was certainly not the first one to do it. Dominick Dunne, Truman Capote, the observations of the Nacirema...all long before me." he continued to babble.

"Quite the judgment call, Dan. All right, maybe I didn't realize that about the Barney's clerks, but still judging women on what it takes to be beautiful is a low blow...especially coming from someone who should care more about his appearance. Anyway, I've heard of Dunne and Capote, but 'Observations of the Nacirema'? What are you talking about." she sighed as she entered the elevator.

"Oh that...ha ha...its actually slightly a joke paper written as an anthropology assignment in the 1950s. I first saw it in my university English classes at NYU...and you probably would have seen it too if you would have ever attended classes instead of getting entangled with dating your business professor during your brief stint at Columbia." he haughtily replied.

"Oh...now your judging me about not finishing school?"

"Yes...and why? Just because you're Serena Vanderwoodsen and the world falls at your feet?"

"You know that isn't true...But anyway, what's your excuse? Why aren't you right now matriculating at NYU? Going for your Bachelor's or Master's or maybe even your PhD? Hm...?" she countered.

"Well...there was my book...then my articles in the Spectator and Vanity Fair...and well I suppose I became distracted... momentarily...but I intend to go back some day. Right now I'm just...on a sabbatical..." he stammered in reply.

"Really? So that's what you call it?" she mused, then added "So you judge me for not finishing school...but what about your treatment of Blair last year? You both more or less dropped out. You to market your book, and her to...become a princess...yet you didn't judge her for dropping out?"

"Blair Waldorf was...another matter. When she gets upset, she'd be so little and cute, sort of like Jenny when she was ten, and I didn't want to upset her any further...so I went along with it because I didn't want to rock the boat...at least consciously. Anyway she told me she was still going to class so..." he babbled on.

"You should've known better. Still, comparing B to your sister at ten is...a...quite the comparison. No wonder there was that scene at the Met between the two of you...involving what? A rhinestone tiara? Blair's no toddler...even if she has acted like one in the past...especially at the Met..." Serena admitted, reluctantly.

"Well...I try to be perceptive, but I can't read the minds of most women. Although I do know what you mean about Blair Waldorf acting immature. Still what's your instance of it?" he inquired, curiously.

"Well...other than the yogurt incident...the other one I specifically remember was the one with the pregnancy test, a long time ago. It was back when we were in high school and I was trying to convince her to take the test to see if she and Chuck were going to have a baby, back then. Imagine if they had then though. There'd be a four and a half, if not five year old little Waldorf-Bass child running around now." Serena laughed.

"Oh god, what a little hellion that child would be! Oh I'd forgotten how those two could've spawned back in high school...and they're still together! I can't believe it! Yeah they could've had an almost five year old child...or a nine month old child or whatever...though they didn't know...oops..." he accidentally admitted.

"Wait a minute, what did you just say? Did you admit to what I think you admitted to?" she asked.

"What? That I switched Blair's DNA results? Yeah. I was feeling jealous that Blair might be pregnant with Chuck's child, so I had a paper made up that said that 'Louis Grimaldi was the father' although to be perfectly honest, I don't know which one was the father. Whoever she used for DNA sample A...which could've been Chuck, I suppose." he admitted.

"Oh, gah...Dan! And you think so much of yourself! I can't believe you did that...although now maybe I do." she sarcastically replied.

"Hey I'm sorry...but being around some of you...its a slippery slope into destruction. Anyway, whatever I felt for Blair pales in comparison to you. Even if I seemed to judge you more than her, its only because I care. Blair's main fault is Chuck Bass...at least in my opinion...because otherwise she can be an intelligent young woman. You on the other hand...my god, you're beautiful, but you have so much wasted potential! Do you even try to work for anything? Or do you just float on through life on your looks and your name?" he asked.

"Dan Humphrey, you must not know me anymore. Yes I've had various opportunities, and maybe I have wasted more than a few on a variety of guys and whatever else, but I'm trying. I'm learning from some of my mistakes now and am hopefully becoming a better person for it, though it'll take time. I do like to read too, and I've watched my fair share of films, it's just that I don't like to flaunt that as the end all and be all of my personality, like some people I know. But as you should know, the book is more than just a cover." Serena replied adamantly.

Suddenly, it was like a switch had been flipped in his brain, and Dan was suddenly able to see that perhaps there was something more to Serena than he'd assumed about her for the past few years. With that also came the old feelings of infatuation, if not love again, as he softened his tone and said "I guess perhaps I should get to know each other better again. I am sorry about how I've treated you for the past two years or more. I don't know what got into me, but I guess with our last break up and both Jenny and Vanessa moving away, and Georgina getting married, I just transferred all of my feelings for them onto Blair. Blair's an all right girl, but she really couldn't replace all of you. I might've lost Jenny and Vanessa, but I'm not going to lose you." he said as he took her hand in the elevator, which had somehow gotten stuck on its descent.

"Thanks Dan. It'd be good to at least have you as a friend again...and if it turns into more again, later on, then we shall see." Serena mused, as she glanced into his eyes again and began to fall in love with him even a little bit all over again. The conversation they'd had, if nothing else, was a good start on the path to repairing their relationship, whatever it may develop into eventually.

Xoxoxoxo

After her morning with Chuck, Blair went on to the offices of Waldorf Designs where she began to direct the staff in her preparations for the day.

"All right everyone, listen...listen...I have an announcement to make. Yes you in the maroon sweater, and you with the Dunkin's Donuts box...For shame! You know we only order from La Maison du Chocolate for macaroons and the French Kissing éclairs that we like so much. So no rogue donuts allowed during my tenure!"

"French Kissing éclairs?" one person asked, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Yes...though that was a mistake...I just meant éclairs..." Blair stammered as she remembered why she'd called them that, based on a memory she'd had of buying several éclairs for Chuck and how when they were plated, the two pastries had appeared to be ready to kiss each other, the cream filling resembling a pair of tongues, making them both laugh. " Nonetheless, we are not here to discuss breakfasts, but our plans for the day. As you already know, my mother is coming today for an inspection, which is why we are going to be on our best behavior. So slouching! No sloppiness! No breaks until I tell you to! We have a lot to make up for after the fashion show fiasco from three weeks ago. Now get to work people, we don't have all day." she commandeered her employees, as she then left Dorota in charge to make sure everyone stayed on task and everything was ship shape, as she went to her office to make a few phone calls.

Xoxoxoxox

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Chuck was following further leads concerning his investigation of his father, and so far it had led him to some interesting places. From a gym, to a horse show, to a variety of other places, he'd learned a bit, but of course there was always more to learn. This vein of his investigation though led him to somewhere quite familiar...and an idea.

Knocking on the door at a certain loft apartment, Chuck waited until someone answered, this time being a young woman with reddish blond hair, not far from his age, generally speaking.

"Chuck...hello...what are you doing here? If you wanted Rufus, he stepped out for a moment, surprisingly enough." Ivy said, her voice it's usual husky tone.

"No. I was in the neighborhood on a mission, let's say, involving my father...and I remembered your penchant for mischievous schemes and disdain for Lily...and wondered if you could help." he replied.

"Possibly...though what does it involve? And, what's in it for me?" she asked.

"Well...I've noticed that you've done an excellent job luring Rufus away from Lily's affections, for whatever reason...which I've learned involves Lily's true niece Lola in some manner. With that in mind...I want you to do the same with my father, Bart Bass. Use your charms and discover whatever secrets you can from him, then report back to me. Apparently he has little regard for the marital fidelity, based on an admission I learned several weeks ago, so this task shouldn't be difficult. If the information proves to be beneficial, you will be financially rewarded quite handsomely." he replied, quoting a possible amount that would definitely go quite far in paying off any debts she had.

"Hm...well Chuck Bass...just tell me where to go." she replied, thinking then how sweet of a revenge it was on Lily Rhodes-Vanderwoodsen, et. al to be seducing away not just one of her husbands, but two! Poor Rufus was too easy because not only was he slightly pathetic, be he seemed to be reliving his relationship with his first wife, Alison, with her. Seducing information out of a steely businessman like Bart Bass would be an interesting test of her acting skills as well, and quite the revenge as well. And if the thing with Bart went well, why stop there? Lily had at least three or four more ex husbands to play with, get money from, and so on, just to see what Lily's reaction would be.

Chuck and Ivy then went on to further discuss their plans to accomplish their goal of getting information from Bart Bass and their means of accomplishing it. Oh yes, two schemers were definitely better than one.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Eventually, back at the offices of Eleanor Waldorf Designs, Blair was in a mess over trying to make everything perfect for her mother's visit, and so far everything was going well, although Blair began to worry that it wasn't, until she almost fainted again. Fortunately Dorota was able to stop her before she did, with chai tea and a masseuse, until Blair was back to her normal self.

When Eleanor did arrive though, it was with a flurry of fashion and purpose. When she entered a room, gliding into it like a flotilla from the Spanish Armada, no one could help but pay attention to her as she began barking orders to her staff as well as Blair's.

"All right people, I don't have all day. I need your latest designs, their color swatches, hemlines, production demos, another example of something from this season and a sketch for what you're working on in the next. I also want to speak with your top intern to see an example of their work, physically. Then I need to see the books to make sure the finances are being taken care of. After the latest I heard from our New York headquarters, I thought it was high time for a house inspection. And can somebody get me a cafe au latte and a Perrier? I'm parched." Eleanor commanded, getting right down to business.

Nervously, Blair presented everything to her mother, who gave her critique after critique, causing her poor daughter to assume she had failed miserably, until her mother sat down with her in her offices and told it to her straight.

"Blair...I didn't come here just to criticize you and your efforts so far. You've done well, and even recovered somewhat since your latest fashion show. I suppose you've learned a lesson from that too. Anyway, even if you've done well, you still have much to learn, though that's to be expected. I just hope that I can teach you everything you need to know before I'm gone." Eleanor commented.

"Which won't be until a long time from now, I'm sure." Blair replied reassuringly.

"Well it may not be...and that's also why I came here to speak with you. The reason why you are now the head of my company is because despite my energy today, my doctor diagnosed me with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome several months ago, and that's why I decided to retire early, if you call fifty five early, and since then, quite recently, my other doctors noticed a lump in my breast so..." Eleanor admitted, as her daughter gasped.

"A lump? No! Is it...breast cancer?" Blair gasped in panic.

"Well, they're not exactly sure yet. It is still in the early stages..." Eleanor admitted.

"Okay...but still, how terrible! And just our luck too! Oh this is probably God's retribution for how I treated Serena when her Grandmother CeCe died of cancer earlier this year. Throwing my decision on Dan Humphrey's ultimatum about a relationship in Serena's face at the hospital whilst Cece was dying? I was a horrible friend! Plus, I'd thought that I was saving Chuck, but my faulty decisions instead diverted the wrath at you!" she started to sob.

"Blair, darling, calm down. I don't think any of this is your fault, or at leastwise, I'm not blaming you. Though I must admit that this news does rattle me a bit. I always thought that I'd be there for the biggest moments of your life." she sighed.

"And you will. I'll make sure you have the best doctors available...as well as admitting that Chuck and I are...mar...uh...engaged...surprise!" Blair exclaimed through her tears as she pulled out the necklace she wore with the Harry Winston diamond on it.

"Oh you did! Congratulations, darling! I knew you would reunite with Charles eventually!" Eleanor exclaimed as she gave her daughter a hug, then pulled back to examine the ring. "Wow, that's quite the ring! A Harry Winston, if I'm not mistaken. But why are you wearing it on a necklace instead of your finger?"

"I just...haven't had the opportunity to have it resized yet."

"Okay. Well...I hope that I can live long enough to see your wedding, because that is one wedding which I definitely want to see." Eleanor replied.

"Yes...and you will!...Which is why I have plans that will now have to be set in motion, most definitely." she sighed as she gave her mother another hug and began to contemplate the future.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

After talking with her mother, Blair took a walk and somehow ended up on the steps of the Met. Sighing, she sat on the steps, contemplating the dramatic turn that her life seemed to have taken as of late. She didn't know how she was going to face the future with her mother now 'dying' (at least in her mind), Chuck still more focussed on bringing down his father than revealing the status of their relationship to the world, the scandalous articles her so-called 'friend' Dan had published about everyone, and her continual issues with Serena, Blair felt like she was friendless indeed.

It was then that someone surprising approached her and sat on the Met steps not far from her.

Glancing up, Blair suddenly realized who it was. "Nelly Yuki, what are you doing here? Did you come to gloat about what a great career you have now and to get more gossip for your articles?" she sarcastically asked.

"No, Blair. I wasn't working with Dan, or I didn't in the end. Anyway I was at a fund raiser gala at the Met, in there to report on it with my press credentials, when I stepped out for some air and saw you out here. I've noticed you haven't been as close to Serena as you once were, so if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm willing to listen."

"I don't fraternize with staff." she sulked.

"Blair, I'm not your minion anymore. I'm your contemporary. Anyway what about Dorota?" Nelly replied.

"She...doesn't count...because she's like family." Blair pouted as Nelly sarcastically scowled back, which caused Blair to roll her eyes and sigh back. "All right, if you insist. Uh, today my mother delivered some devastating news about her health to me and now I'm just trying to deal with it, along with my other drama with Serena and Dan and Chuck and so on..." she said as she unloaded a bit on Nelly Yuki of all people, something that she'd thought she'd never do back in high school.

Nelly, for her part, ended up being a good friend in the sense that she listened seemingly without judgment and gave her some sound advice and a piece of her mind regarding the past. "Blair, the only thing I can tell you is that you just have to listen to other people and let the be themselves without looking down on them. Everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect. You used to be so mean to me in high school, but you revealed to me tonight that you aren't when you don't want to be. You are still a strong woman, even if life gives you roadblocks. Anyway, as far as the one issue, I'll talk to my uncle who's an oncologist at Cedar's Sinai. He should be able to help your mother, or at least give her advice on what to do next. And if he doesn't want to help, I'll tell him its for the mother of a friend." she replied as she then gave Blair her number and her uncle's number.

Right after Nelly left, Blair noticed a familiar black limousine pull up to the curb. She walked right up to it and spoke to the occupant inside, who let her in as soon as she opened the door.

"Hello, Chuck. Funny that I ran into you here." Blair said as she slid into the limo and across the seat to sit next to her man.

"Oh yes. The knowledge of your whereabouts is of the utmost importance to me..." he mused, then added "I was also in the area."

"Were you at the Met Gala? I'm sorry I forgot to attend. I had other matters that shook me too much." she sighed.

"Oh it was no problem. I was there, yes, on a mission involving my father. Further investigations, lets say." he mused.

"Hm...you and your schemes. You'll have to update me again." she mused, then went on. "Anyway, the reason why I didn't make it to the fund raiser and what shook me so much was my mother's visit. Oh she was critical of it in the ways that I expected, so no surprise there. But then she dropped the bombshell that she retired because she has chronic fatigue syndrome and now they found a lump in her breast. My mother's going to die...and she never saw our wedding! We have to go public now, for my mother's sake, no matter what your father thinks of us." she sobbed.

"Oh...that's terrible about your mother, Blair. I love you and...I agree that if she is dying...that takes precedence over my issues with Bart. We'll work something out, together. Which means we have some things to think on and plan." he replied, holding her comfortingly as he began to ponder the future and they drove on to Chuck's place to spend the night.


	7. Chapter 7 Save The Last Chance

Save the Last Chance

A few days later Chuck and Blair were discussing how to exactly announce the status of their relationship to anyone who cared to know, with Blair more adamant about making a splashy announcement.

"Chuck, you know that after learning what I did about my mother's health, we have to make ourselves known in a public way...despite what your father, Bart might think of us. Now I know that I was already married before, to a European prince, no less, so I know to what extent ostentatiousness can go. So no huge spread in the Sunday New York Times, or banner on NASDAQ, or Times Square. And no commemorative mugs or plates or postage stamps..."

"Postage stamps?" Chuck asked skeptically. "Don't you have to be...dead first?"

"Apparently not in Monaco. And yes I agree that and the mugs, plates, and whatever else was a bit much...though I loved it, and wished it was _you _and I instead..." she laughed and sighed.

"Really? Mmm...I suppose that would've been...interesting." he mused.

"Yeah though image this face on a commemorative plate. Either people would laugh, or it be so hot people would buy them just to lick off your face!" she teased, grabbing his chin in her hand and giving his freshly shaven cheek and kiss and a lick. "Mm...I would tend to think it'd be the latter...and before you suddenly think 'Chuck and Blair plates' would make a great money making opportunity...I'll veto it because I'd rather not share you with anyone else."

"Mm...you know me too well." he mused with his dark, seductive voice.

"Yes...indeed..." she mused seductively back, the sexual tension sparking off of them like electricity.

"Mm...well if not the commemorative dish ware...and whatever else...what are your plans for announcing our... relationship?" he mused, turning around to face her again.

"Well...I was thinking about a small piece in the society pages of the times, without a photograph. And maybe something in Nate's Spectator paper, if he ever gets it launched properly again. Then...well tomorrow night I'm going to throw a party on behalf of a new collection my mother wants introduced, a Scottish themed collection, and I thought that we could announce it there." she replied.

"A Scottish themed party? Is everyone required to wear a kilt?" he mused.

"Yes...they are. There is a Bass Plaid, isn't there? Or perhaps you can have one created. Yes I'm going to require that everyone wear a kilt to the party...especially you, Chuck Bass. I'd love to see your legs in a kilt." she teased, wondering if he would actually wear one or not. Although based on his penchant for interesting clothing, it wouldn't be surprising if he did.

"Well then I'll see what I can do. You know the old adage about a Scotsman and his kilt, don't you?" he replied.

"Indeed I do. And that's why I can't wait to see you in one." she saucily teased, imaging Chuck in a kilt, swaggering across the floor just for her. Yum yum.

Xoxoxoxo

Serena, meanwhile was hanging out at MOMA, waiting to speak with a rep from the museum about becoming a docent or historian/hostess, which would be a classic UES style 'career move' for people of her class, as well as plotting her next move in regards to her relationship with Dan Humphrey. Oh he'd painted a pretty picture for of how remorseful he was about how he'd treated her in the past year or two especially, and claimed to regret some of the slightly underhanded things he'd done to Blair, as well as what he wrote about people in both _**INSIDE **_as well as his articles in the The Spectator and Vanity Fair, however Serena doubted his sincerity on some level. That was why, despite the fact that she still loved him deep down inside, she knew that the best course of action was to be a bit cautious. Reveal the truth only when necessary.

Thus she was sitting on a bench in the museum, leafing through a pamphlet on Impressionism as she waited on the museum employee she was supposed to meet, when a curly haired young man with a scarf wrapped around his neck in what he supposed was an artistic manner, approached her carrying two cups of coffee that had been obviously purchased from a vender's cart outside, discretely under his drab, brown coat.

"Dan...I'm surprised that you're actually here. I mentioned I had an appointment at MoMa, but I didn't know if you'd remembered or not." she replied, seeming happy to see him there.

"Oh of course. I'm never late for important dates...don't you remember? Nonetheless, I brought something for you, to warm you up on this wet, rainy day." he replied, handing her the steaming cup, as he took a sip of his own.

"Oh coffee...thanks. Although now I prefer tea, since Stephen introduced me to the special blend his company produces, but thanks anyway. I'm sure you went through a lot of effort getting this. Buying it off of the vending cart and covertly sneaking it into the art museum under your coffee stained farmer's coat." she mused, giving him a wry look.

"Hey you don't have to be ungrateful. You could've just not had anything." he replied sarcastically. Then asked "Anyway, I thought we were all good the last time we saw each other?"

"Well perhaps I'm still working on forgiving you?" she replied. "Anyway, right now I have an appointment, so you can wait with me if you want to. Unless the appreciation of real art is beyond your line of expertise?" she wryly teased.

"Seriously? You, Serena Vanderwoodsen, think you're an art historian now? Ha, this I've got to see." he sarcastically replied, as the woman Serena was supposed to meet approached them then.

"Hello, Serena? My name is Mae and it's good to meet you and see that such a vibrant young woman as yourself is interested in our docent's program at the museum. Did you study art history in college or are you an artist yourself?" the older woman asked, as she began to give them a tour of the museum.

"Actually no...although I did briefly consider Art History as a major while at Columbia...and as far as being an artist...I did dabble in painting a bit while staying in the Left Bank in Paris several years ago...as well as writing when I helped a young screen writer with his screenplay for The Beautiful And The Damned." Serena mentioned, surprising not only the woman from the museum, but also Dan as well.

"My my...what an impressive past you've had so far, my dear. Obviously more well rounded than some society girls are these days. So, you attended Columbia...and it says here Constance Billard...so were the classrooms still as drafty in your day as they were in mine?" the woman mused.

"You're a Constance Alumni as well?" Serena asked.

"Oh yes, Constance Billard, Class of nineteen sixty-five, same as your grandmother CeCe. I'm sorry to hear that she passed. When was it exactly?"

"This past Spring. And thank you for your condolences. That is actually more than I got from some people I know." she replied, glancing toward Dan.

"Really? Well I would say that it is horribly bad manners not to respect someone enough to not wish condolences to someone after the passing of a loved one." the older woman replied, making their male companion feel especially small.

They went on to tour the museum further. The conversation moving from the Rhodes & Vanderwoodsen family on to the various pieces of art throughout the museum. Mae was impressed by Serena's knowledge of the various pieces in the museum, while Dan was stunned by her knowledge and a little intimidated. Throughout the tour he kept interrupting with his own bits of insight and history that he knew, which impressed Mae and annoyed Serena, until he made a mistake which Serena corrected him on.

In the end, the woman giving them the tour and testing their knowledge gave a surprising verdict. "Well, it appears that you both have a surprising knowledge of the pieces in this museum...and compliment each other so well...that I'd be tempted to give you both positions here at the museum."

"Both of us working together?" Serena pondered aloud, as Dan piped up "Well if you insist..."

"Yes. I'll have to speak with my boss about it...but it just might work. Why don't you two wait here and I'll be back in a moment." she replied, checking her phone as she realized that someone was trying to contact her.

Meanwhile, Serena and Dan sat down on a bench, where she laid into him a bit. "Dan Humphrey, I can't believe you! Was this your plan all along? Muscle in on my job interview and steal the position right out from under me?"

"Well...not initially...but if my witty charm and knowledge of the classics won her over...who am I to tell her no? Plus...being a museum curator would give me lots of inspiration for my next book. Imagine...society matron pays for her lifestyle through the sale of a painting stolen from the Met years earlier...but who can that matron be?" he pondered coyly. "Or perhaps I'll change it to billionaire businessman and his bastard son, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who steals a society matron away from her troubadour true love from the outer boroughs...What a story that could be?"

"What? Now you're going to publish more stories about our parents? You have no shame." she criticized, as he laughed "Not anymore."

Eventually the woman from the museum returned with news. "Congratulations, you two! I was able to get two spots open on the docent's roster for both of you! You can go to room 204 and look for Mr Van Norman for further information." she exclaimed, giving them each a card which told where to go and how to get there. Dan took his card and immediately went to leave, and so did Serena, albeit reluctantly, until the woman called her back.

"Serena, before you go, I would like to ask you a question. Our museum occasionally sends out our employees on special assignments as hosts for private events, and I've just received a request for such services today. Apparently there is going to be a private party which includes a fashion show at this address, which needs a host. Your responsibility, if you take this assignment, will not only include being a Masters of Ceremonies at this event, but also the curator of a small collection of Celtic artifacts they've requested to borrow from the museum for their event. Given your history with fashion, society, and your effervescent personality, I'd thought you'd be the perfect candidate for this event."

"Thank you, you're too kind. Yes, I will take this event and make your fabulous museum very proud indeed." Serena coyly replied, knowing by the address the woman gave her, who the party might be for.

xoxoxoxo

Over at Waldorf Designs headquarters, Blair was trying to get her 'troops' in order as she attempted to organize her event for the day, although as always, not everything always went smoothly.

"Staff...everyone...may I have your attention, please? Thank you. Now as you all know, today is the second part in the re-launch of Eleanor Waldorf Designs Winter Fashion Show...added because of what happened the last time. Which will not happen again, do you understand? We will have ultimate control of what products come in to the show, what products go out of the show, who is handling the fashions from dresses, to blouses, shirts, stockings, shoes, skirts and kilts, accessories, such as scarves, hats, and belts. The lighting and media production for the show and so on. This show will be worthy of Eleanor Waldorf Designs because the creator will be in-house tonight...so it must go perfectly...or else...because she is a woman who is not amused...and neither am I." she haughtily commanded, as she went back into her office and left Dorota to commandeer the rest of it.

Waiting inside her office, lounging lazily in her chair, sipping a drink, was her man, the incomparable, Chuck Bass. Turning towards her and lifting his face in a sly grin, he said "Nice job commandeering your troops. I knew you always loved to to be in command in most situations...or should I say...on top?"

"And you would know..." she slyly replied.

"Indeed. Especially in private situations...when you act so regal...and claiming that you or your mother are women who are not a amused...when I know that's not the case with you. Unless you want to be Britain's Queen Elizabeth...in which case you my dear are far better looking at least." he replied.

"Thank you for the compliment. Flattery will get you everywhere..." she mused, walking around to face him, coyly perching herself on the edge of her desk.

"Even here?" he seductively purred, running his hand along her thigh, upward under her skirt.

"Oh...I don't if I should? What if someone walked in? I'm supposedly at work." she coyly replied, laying her hand on his.

"I thought you liked people to watch? Play hooky with me...just once, that's all I need..." he seductively pleaded, working his other hand on her other leg.

Tempted, she sighed, looking into his seductively expressive face, when she glanced down at what he was wearing and coyly teased "Well...perhaps...but you have to show me what you're wearing under there. Show me if the rumor about men who wear kilts is true." wondering what he would do.

"If that's what it takes, why don't you come down here and find out for yourself?" he countered slyly.

"Ah...show me yours and I'll show you mine? You'd like that wouldn't you? You'd like for me to slide on down there and see it for myself...well I'll only do that if you see to me first..." she coyly replied, sliding her legs around his body and drawing him close, until his face and wicked mouth were nearly eye level with her crotch.

"Ah then...your wish is my command..." he replied with a sultry growl, as he rolled back her skirt, slipped past her underclothes and began to pleasure her with his mouth and fingers the way she loved most. It was then, after he began, as she began to climb the heights of ecstasy, that she realized that she'd unwittingly given him exactly what he'd wanted...more or less. Still if what he'd wanted to pleasure her...who was she to deny it?

After he was finished on his end, pleasuring her orally to the point of making her come on her desk, Chuck leaned back in the chair, wiped his mouth, and flipped back the kilt he wore, more or less exposing himself to the eyes of his sated wife. Eying him, Blair glanced down and noticed that what they said about men in kilts was true, they didn't wear anything underneath. Or at least that was the case for her husband Chuck Bass, as she noticed him already ruddy and standing at attention. He was certainly a sight to behold, and after giving her the pleasure he did, she knew he expected to be paid in kind...and though she was tempted...she decided a slightly different tactic, as she slid off the desk and seemingly onto the floor at his feet, where she bent down and kissed him there, running her lips and tongue along the side. Giving him pleasure, but not sucking him off. She tried that tactic for a few moments, then when he thought for sure the she'd go down on him, she stood up, slid onto his lap straddling his thighs, and impaled herself on him, kissing him and riding his lap in a round of sex not that dissimilar to their first time in his limo years earlier.

Oh yes, even if it was in an office chair...somethings never changed. They continued with their little sport, testing the chair in ways it wasn't meant to be tested, but somehow survived nonetheless. Eventually he even pulled them down onto the carpet so that they were having sex on the floor behind her desk, as someone opened and shut the door, though they were barely aware of it.

Afterwards, the two of them got up, a panting, disheveled mess...though it had been a thoroughly enjoyable encounter nonetheless.

"Well thank you for that Chuck...it was invigorating to say the least..." she slyly replied as she stood up and straightened out her dress.

"At your service and always aiming to please..." he smirked, as she helped him to stand once more.

"Indeed you do. But ah...I can't be distracted by this...I have to make sure that my show goes off without a hitch...or else I'll disappoint my mother again...and her health will deteriorate...and the next thing you know, I'll be having a funeral for her...and I couldn't stand that...so...I have to go out there and meet the rep from the Met who I asked to be here for the show to make sure everything goes as planned." she exasperatedly claimed.

"Hey...calm down darling, you'll be all right. Come 'ere..." he replied with a smirk, giving her a slightly awkward, but still comforting hug.

"Thanks, Chuck. Mm..." she said as she held onto him, then asked "So...you think it'll be all right?"

"Of course. Just be yourself and it'll work out. And if all else fails...you can always ask for my help. I'll go out and..." he teased.

"What? You'll walk the catwalk in a kilt? Ha ha...I can only imagine." she chuckled as she imagined her fashion show including Chuck walking the runway in a kilt, though with his distinctive swagger and 'cooler- than-you' attitude, it could prove to be quite interesting. Briefly she considered it, but in the end, Blair decided that the world wasn't ready for a kilted Chuck Bass with swagger and attitude just yet...or she just wanted to keep that part of him to herself.

"Thanks for the offer...but you don't have to this time Chuck. Though tonight in the bedroom is another story. Either way you better put your pants on for now..." she teased, as she gave him a playful smack on the ass as he swaggered across her office to her personal restroom to find his slacks.

As Chuck was dressing, Blair nonchalantly slipped out of her office and made her way across the main areas of Eleanor Waldorf Designs headquarters to where there appeared to be people readying for a press conference of sorts, to be led by someone very familiar to Blair.

"Serena Vanderwoodsen...what are you doing here...getting ready to hold a press conference at my...mother's offices? I'm waiting on the rep from the Met and thus I don't need you to sabotage the whole thing, again!" she panicked, as she confronted Serena.

"Sabotage? Me? Now why would you think that? Especially since I wasn't the one to sabotage your last fashion show directly. That was Sage."

"As I indeed know."

"Anyway, I'm here on official business. You said that you were looking for the Met rep? Well you needn't look any further." Serena slyly replied, with a smirk.

"YOU are the Met representative? How did you land that that illustrious title? Or perhaps I shouldn't ask?" Blair asked, still surprised that some things came so easily to Serena.

"Charisma I guess. And applying to be a docent at the Met earlier today. Be thankful that the other person who talked his way into also becoming a docent wasn't asked to do this instead." Serena replied.

"And who did that happen to be?" Blair asked.

"Dan Humphrey."

"Oh, yes. Be thankful for small miracles indeed. All right well, I guess since you are somehow my representative from the Met and hostess of the collection of artifacts which you were supposed to bring with you, I'll let you do your job. You did remember the artifacts, didn't you?" Blair replied, pondering inquiringly at the end.

"Oh of course! I know what I'm supposed to do." Serena replied to Blair, as she then turned to the other people who were already gathering for the show. Using her pre-written notes, Serena breezed through introductions and made small talk with people who were curious, answering a variety of questions with her typical effervescent charm.

The show then soon started with most of the fashions shown on the runway going off without a hitch, much to Blair's pleasure. Even the points in which her designers incorporated some of the Celtic artifacts from the Met into some of the designs, seemed to go well and without much extra drama. Thus all in all this collection was fairly well received. Maybe not at well as some of Eleanor's most lauded collections, but at least better than the show from a few weeks earlier which had had Sage's interference all over it. Even the announcement that Chuck and Blair made in reference to them being a couple seemed to be well received by the press and everyone in attendance, even if not everyone who could have been in attendance actually made it there...including some of their parents.

xoxoxoxo

As the fashion show, which Lily Vanderwoodsen-Bass had attended, was going on over at Waldorf Designs offices, over at the Palace Hotel, the other part of Chuck's plan to expose his father was just winding down in the Presidential Suite.

"Thank you for your help, sir. I didn't know where else to turn after your wife so cruelly spurned me earlier. If there's anything else I can do to repay you, sir..." the young woman inquired in her usual, husky voice.

"You're welcome. No there's nothing else..." he replied as he buttoned his jacket and smoothed it with a brush of his hand. He glanced at his reflection in the hotel room's mirror, straightening his tie, and would have said more, except that his phone rang, interrupting thoughts and their conversation.

Nonchalantly, the businessman tried to dismiss the young woman from his room with a gesture, and she acted as if to leave, then ducked into the bathroom instead, intent on listening in and gathering her own intel for the person she was working with. Slyly, she sat back and waited, hearing as much of the conversation as she could.

"...Yes...Thank you for returning my call, Jeffries. I wanted to speak with you about another shipment I have arranged for next week. Yes...the terms will be similar...with the exception that instead of the usual, I would like to receive 'tea' from Hassan's usual sources...Yes, I know where he's from, so just say it came Saudi Arabia, or somewhere that isn't held in embargo. Also I will help you with that later, but first I have a few things I need to take care of...Thank you...I also have a package I want you to destroy. Take care of that...and you'll receive your payment as well." Bart said, speaking in a cold, slightly menacing tone to the person who was on the other end of the line.

He soon left after hanging up the phone, leaving the hotel suite empty, or so he thought. As soon as he left, his little visitor, Ivy, ducked out of her hiding spot in the bathroom and sneaked across the suite to the desk on which lay the infamous package of which Bart had mentioned to his somewhat anonymous contact. Deciding that whatever was in the package was no doubt damning evidence of some sort, she took it as further payment for his 'help' of her. Sneaking out, she quickly hurried to the location that Chuck had designated for them to meet up.

xoxoxo

The fashion show-cum-party at Eleanor Waldorf Designs was just ending as Serena was taking her leave after collecting the artifacts and other items she'd been given responsibility for had been collected, and was just about to leave, when she suddenly spotted a familiar face coming toward her, seemingly offering to help.

"Dan, what are you doing here? Did you come here to sabotage Blair's fashion show, because if so, you're a tad too late."

"Me sabotage something? Where do you think I'm from, the Upper East Side?"

"You're testing your limits, Dan." she replied, angrily.

"No...I came here...because the museum sent me. They thought you could use help transporting all of this stuff back...and I volunteered to help."

"All right, help then.." she replied, shoving the box into his hands.

"Fine. Are you mad at me? I'm sorry about that crack about the Upper East Side. I was only kidding. Anyway I need your help. I need a place to stay again...and if Bart and Lily won't let me stay there...and I'm definitely not going back to my father's..." he replied as he followed her down the stairs and out of the building.

"You want a place to stay...yeah I know...but one thing I just thought of, why don't you just get your own place? I thought you were a 'millionaire' after _**INSIDE, **_so what happened?" she asked, curiously.

"I...still have the money I suppose...it's just that flaunting it is so bourgeoisie...and real writers like Jack Kerouac never flaunted any of the money they made...but instead experienced the real world and lived like vagabonds...sooo I just haven't gotten around to getting my own place yet." he sheepishly admitted.

"Well maybe it's time that you should..."

"Hm...you're really one to talk. You've never had your own place either. Instead you've flitted from living with your mother, to boarding school, to Blair's, to boyfriends' penthouses, and so on, to name a few. Maybe its time for you to settle down too." he retorted.

"Maybe...Well I guess we'll have to ask Chuck if he has any connections in real estate..." Serena pondered.

"No...not Chuck Bass. He'd probably intentionally sell us condemned apartments that are infested with vermin...and expect us to sleep with him for payment. I don't trust the guy." he adamantly replied.

"Dan...he is my brother and not as bad as you think. Anyway, if not Chuck, then maybe my mother would know something." she sighed as she followed him along to the museum. Once there, they deposited the museum artifacts there without further ado, then went on to Lily and Bart's apartment in the Upper East Side.

Once they arrived at the apartment, they were greeted by Lily and soon launched into a conversation about how they were looking for apartments, or at least Dan was. It was in that moment that Bart walked into the room, overhearing their conversation as he arrived.

"Hello Serena, Daniel, I had not realized you both had arrived. What is this I hear about needing an apartment or two?" Bart asked in his suave, businessman manner.

"Yes sir...Serena believes I need an apartment for myself...and since you are the king of real estate, I suggested that we consult you." Dan replied, padding Bart's ego a bit with his flattery.

"Real estate king, you say? Well...I prefer czar, but either title will do. Nonetheless, I do think that I can help you, son. I just so happen to have a flat in...well let's see, you're from Brooklyn, right? Well I happen to have a flat in Brooklyn that just might fit your needs. It might not be a large as your father's loft, but for your needs I'm sure it will suffice. I believe it is furnished already." Bart mused.

"Really? Thank you sir. If we could see it as soon as possible, I'd appreciate it." he replied.

"We could go now, if you have the time." Bart suggested, as Lily replied "Oh yes, lets! It would be fun and I'd love to see where the kids live. Come, Serena, lets make it a family excursion!" suggesting that the four of them make the trip over to see the apartment, which they did.

Once there, Dan decided to take the place on the spot, especially after much encouragement from the other three. After touring the flat with Dan, Serena began to get a funny feeling that somehow this place was meant for her too. It had a sunny area where she could pursue her painting instincts, a decent sized kitchen, and bathroom, as well as a bedroom. She began to suddenly daydream again like she did in high school, that she was marrying Dan and they were going to live in this adorable little flat. Suddenly she too knew what she wanted. Despite the fact that he was such an egotistical pain in the ass sometimes, she oddly enough still loved him, or at least could fall back in love with him easily enough.

In selling this flat to Dan Humphrey, Bart Bass knew that he had solved an issue he'd had recently. With the disposal of it, he could now finish other business deals he had in play...and whatever might happen next was anyone's guess, but at least it was out of his hands now.

xoxoxoxo

Meeting up with Chuck in another part of the city, Ivy handed him the package and sighed "This is what I got from my time there. Your father was certainly willing enough to cheat on Lily, though I don't know if he realized who I was. Anyway, I overheard a conversation he was having on the phone with someone named 'Jeffries'? I don't know, but anyway, he talked about embargoes and 'tea from Saudi Arabia' and a few other things, which I have on this recording I made. He also talked about how he'd wanted this package destroyed and so I knew then that it must be important, so I brought it to you."

"Thank you, you were of much help spying on my father. You'll be dually rewarded for your efforts in time." he replied, as he carefully opened the package, which contained a small bit of microfilm. On a brief examination of the microfilm, Chuck knew that he might now have some solid evidence of his father's wrong doings. And thus he began to plot and plan what to do, saving it for another day.


	8. Chapter 8 It's Really Complicated

It's Really Complicated

Unfortunately sometimes flaws can occur in even well laid plans, and thus was the case with that microfilm that Chuck had acquired. It simply disappeared after someone ransacked his place apparently looking for it. He reported the break-in and the fact that his possessions had been tampered with, but to report exactly what was missing was more complicated because it was secret evidence he had against his father in the first place. So the loss of that, among other concerns, threw him into a depressive funk for a bit, effecting even his relationship with Blair a little bit.

Another couple who were having seemingly fewer problems with their relationship was Dan and Serena. After helping Dan get his apartment in the West Village, Serena offered to help him decorate the place...then ended up moving in herself, perhaps despite her better judgment. It was seemingly easy to fall back into a relationship with him because they knew each other, even if they both had changed some in the three or four years since dating in high school. They both were a bit more cynical, but still had the tendency to fall back in love quite easily...thus playing house together also seemed natural. Or at least it did for Serena.

Oh yes, being with Dan again, especially in the capacity of living with him as well, not just going out on dates and occasionally sleeping together at either of each other's parents' homes like earlier, certainly resurrected the old daydreams for the future that Serena had once had. Even though she tried to be a cosmopolitan woman of the world who loved to travel and to try new things, including careers and people, in an attempt to find herself & what she wanted to do with her future...she still had the same type of daydreams for herself that she knew her friend Blair always had. The ones that included not only a successful career, but also marriage and babies and a comfortable home.

Unlike Blair, who's dreams also required living in an Upper East Side penthouse or townhouse and/or mansion in the country (or a European castle, as the case once was), with the every ready presence of a certain housekeeper-cum-nanny to help with the children, and the fact she'd actually seriously pursued that dream at least two or three times (her relationship with Nate in high school, her past relationship with Chuck, her brief marriage to Louis, and current relationship with Chuck again now), Serena's dreams weren't quite as specific.

She'd be fine with wherever she and her future husband would live in the city. It definitely did not have to be on Park Avenue...although a tastefully remodeled and furnished brownstone in Park Slope would be something she'd definitely consider with the right guy. And if the guy wasn't adverse to it, she'd rather do her own shopping and raise her own children without the help of a nanny, because she liked to experience things for herself and not necessarily become a clone of her mother when she was a young mother. Still, unlike her friend, Blair, Serena herself hadn't considered or pursued the marriage route quite as seriously. Her 'marriage' to Poppy's (now ex) boyfriend Gabriel turned out to be mistake in her own mind. Her other relationships with Colin, Ben, and whoever else were just brief dalliances, with her relationship with Stephen probably came the closest to marriage, however she realized that even there she was deluding herself slightly and falling into the same comfort zone as her mother (literally) instead of what she really wanted, which harkened back to high school.

In her own old daydreams of a perfect husband, that usually included either Dan Humphrey or Nate Archibald. Nate was the guy she'd grown up with and crushed on ever since she was a little girl and she'd have play dates with him and Blair. He was sort of like the brother she never had because they both liked to hang out, play sports, party on the yachts or each other's homes. That was why having sex, dating him and picturing being married to him...or someone like him, was old hat, since he was easy to love, came from old money, just like herself, and was the type of guy she thought she was born to marry, even if he'd been 'claimed' as a boyfriend by Blair for years. (Which was perhaps why she still felt a little guilty actually seriously thinking of herself as a future Mrs Nate Archibald, despite how many people they both had dated since then. )

Dan was the guy to challenge the status quo in her life, and was the cynical, artist soul that fed something in her that she'd only realized she'd needed back in boarding school when she'd had a crush on her teacher, Ben. Yet, unlike Ben, Dan was her age and could relate to the nuances of their own generation far better. Yes, they'd since had their ups and downs and obstacles in the past, with his infatuation of her best friend and pressuring her into a romantic relationship right in front of her face at the hospital while CeCe was dying being the biggest one, but there was still something about him, when he was being honest, that tugged at her heartstrings.

That was why, in that chilly, late November morning just before Thanksgiving, Serena suddenly was feeling domestic, and after curling up on the sofa, watching the movie Julie & Julia with Dan, she suddenly became inspired.

"Dan...you know how we were talking about what we're going to do for Thanksgiving? Well I just thought of a great idea...why don't we host a it here for our family and friends as sort of a house warming party...and peace offering of sorts for all of the articles that you wrote about everyone." she enthusiastically suggested.

"You want to host Thanksgiving...for everyone...here? Is there enough room? How are you going to get the food?" he asked skeptically.

"Oh well...we can...make room...if we just rearrange the furniture in here a little bit." she replied, glancing around the living room area a little bit to try to determine how to fit everyone. "Anyway as far as the food...well the other day I popped into a used bookshop, after we were talking about Thanksgiving, and I happened to find this in the Cooking section...and I became inspired." she said, walking over to the bookshelf and pulling out a weighty volume which had thus far gone unnoticed by Dan.

"The Art Of French Cooking Volume I, by Julia Child. Is this why you suddenly suggested tonight's choice of movie?" he mused aloud.

"Well...yes. I'd read the book version awhile ago and wanted to see the movie myself, especially after I found the cookbook. I'd thought about contacting Julie, since I think she and her husband still live in Brooklyn, but then reconsidered and thought that if she could do it on her own a decade ago in their spartan conditions, then so can I." she admitted.

"Do it yourself? What are you going to cook your way through the book for me like Amy Adams did for her husband in the movie?" he asked with skeptical enthusiasm.

"No, not quite. I'm just going to make some of the dishes from the cookbook for our Thanksgiving feast and present them ourselves. I figured, if even Blair can make a pumpkin pie...then I can make a five course turkey dinner with no problems." Serena smugly replied.

"Seriously? Serena, do you even know how to cook? Except for that time we ate Thanksgiving dinner at your mom's place several years ago, the only other one I can distinctly remember was the one years ago which involved your mother buying duck and raw pumpkin...and we ended up eating french fries at a diner." he skeptically inquired.

"Yes...I can cook...or at least I'm willing to try...perhaps with your help. I can't do any worse than Amy Adams' character in the movie." she replied.

"And she knew how to cook. All right, I'll be your sous chef...for however long it lasts." he mused skeptically, wondering what would come next.

Xoxoxoxo

While Serena experimented with what to make for Thanksgiving, Blair was trying to straighten out her plans for the holiday as well. Not only did she have to get things ready at the office before everyone took the holiday off.

"Now everyone...I know that orders have been coming in for our latest line...but of course there are a few alterations that need to be made to the line to satisfy certain customer tastes...which has turned into school uniforms, as some of you may know. With that said, we have not only orders from Bergdorf's, Bendels, and Bloomingdales, but also Macy's put in a special order for not only modified skirts, jumpers, and blazers to be featured in their Black Friday Sale, but also we have to create a costume for Carly Rae Jepsen to wear in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...which is in two days...So my little elves we must get to work...chop chop..." she declared, sighing a bit as she slunk back into her office again, to call her mother.

As if on cue, the phone rang just after Blair had settled into her favorite chair with a cup of camomile tea to try to settle her nervous stomach, because apparently Baby Bass didn't like the breakfast burrito she'd eaten that morning after a sudden craving for one had hit her on the way to work, after all. Or she was nervous about the order redesign for Macy's and Carly. Or she was concerned for Chuck who was currently in a grumpy mood and hadn't wanted to stay over at her place or let her stay over at his, and she was trying to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving.

Deftly she lifted the phone to her ear and replied "Hello mother...did you need something...I'm busy right now..."

"You're busy? Good for you. Well I won't keep you long but I just thought I would ask what is this I heard about a celebrity wanting to wear one of my designs on broadcast television? This isn't going to be like the last time, is it? The celebrity isn't Madonna, is it?" Eleanor asked.

"No, it's not Madonna, mother. Fortunately and unfortunately. No, it's that Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen and she's going to wear it during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...so it's not going to be anything scandalous. And it's going to be great exposure for my...'our' designs and brand over all." Blair sighed.

"That's good. Although...and I don't mean to be too critical, dear but...are your designs enough for a celebrity? They're fine for your schoolgirls and all, but..."

"That's why I initiated a redesign this morning. I set some of my best pattern makers and underlings to work to redesign some of the kilts and jackets per that request...so yes it's being taken care of."

"Good girl. I knew you had a good head on your shoulders. I suppose my worry is unwarranted but I do...worry...even from all the way over here in Paris..." Eleanor sighed.

"Speaking of Paris...what time did you say you were coming in for Thanksgiving? I'll call the usual caterers and make my special pumpkin pie for daddy...if he decides to come..." she inquired.

"Well dear...we thought that with Bart returning from the grave so to speak...you and Chuck might want to spend this Thanksgiving with his side of the family. It being his first Thanksgiving with his father in four years and all. So that was why Cyrus and I reserved a table at Gerard Besson and your father and Roman are giving us a tour of their chateau and vineyards. I thought it was high time I made peace with your father and actually visited where he's been living for the past few years or so...especially with my possible health issues. " Eleanor replied.

"Wait a minute...you and Cyrus are spending Thanksgiving with my father...and I have to spend it with the Basses? That's not very...fair..." she gasped and pouted. "Especially if this is your last Thanksgiving..."

"Blair...they are your family now, aren't they? It's the least you can do for Charles...or aren't you two getting along anymore either? Oh...Blair...you already divorced a prince and that was embarrassing enough...you don't need to become another Liz Taylor...but if you're unhappy...I can come to New York..." Eleanor sighed dramatically.

"Oh mother, mother...Chuck and I...everything's fine!" she replied huffily, suddenly vaguely remembering a song she'd heard in childhood, while watching MTV with her friends.

"Well I would hope so, but it doesn't sound like it."

"No...I'm fine...Chuck's fine...work's fine...I'm just a little stressed that all...and I have a meeting in a few minutes that I have to prepare for...so I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Blair sighed as she bid her mother goodbye, then sat back to contemplate her change of plans.

After awhile, Blair went out to inspect the handiwork of some of the designers and what their redesigns were shaping up to be. Most of the designs weren't terrible, and would definitely work for what Macy's had wanted to be sold in their stores for their Black Friday sale...but none of them seemed to have the pop of something extra and beyond the typical that was needed for Carly's parade costume. She presented that dilemma to her designers and told them to keep thinking because none of their ideas were quite what she had in mind. As well, after looking at the designs and pondering on her issues with Chuck, a seed of another idea for another line began to germinate. Another line of apparel that she was sure Chuck would love to see, both on and off of her. Still that would have to wait until later because currently there was the pressing issue of Carly's costume, which one designer finally discovered a possible solution for.

"Ms. Waldorf...I was scouring through some of your mother's old pattern files and I discovered this. It's a very edgy design...at least for her since its definitely not like her usual designs...and even if it's dated from November of 2008...I don't think it's ever been produced, has it? If not, it appears like it would be perfect for what you need for Carly Rae Jepsen's costume." the pattern designer suggested, showing the rough pattern sketch she'd found.

Glancing at the sketch, Blair was suddenly reminded of this dress she vaguely remembered Jenny Humphrey wearing years earlier. A dress that looked like a rockstar's version of a school uniform jumper, with the plaid material haphazardly pieced together with the raw edges exposed and a pink crinoline underskirt added on underneath. Even the girl in the sketch looked like Jenny from that time period, with the shag haircut and too much eyeshadow, though none of the current designers would recognize that. Apparently, despite Jenny taking back the actual dress years earlier, her mother had kept a sample of the pattern for it in her files...and forgotten all about it.

"Well...even if the pattern is vintage...sort of...I don't think my mother ever added it to any of her lines. But...if it was with her pattern files...then we can definitely use it now for what we need. Yes, use that design for Carly's costume and we'll see how it goes." she slyly approved, thanking her mother's resourcefulness and Jenny's old designs for proverbially saving her ass.

Xoxoxoxo

At noon, Blair decided to go out for a break and was just walking into a cafe for a bite to eat, when she saw Serena sitting at a table with a grocery bag from Trader Joe's by her feet, while reading a book, eating a panini sandwich and sipping a cappuccino with extra foam. Coyly, Blair sidled over to her friend and sat in the other chair at Serena's table and cleared her throat to get her attention.

"B...hi...what are you doing here? Did you need something?" Serena sighed, glancing up from her book.

"Well I just...stopped in on my lunch break...and saw you sitting there with your sandwich and your cappuccino and your book and your bag of groceries. You look like the typical middle class New York young woman...but do you really have to appear so provincial that you're buying your own groceries now? Really, S." she haughtily replied.

"Buying my own groceries for my dinner party beforehand is at least more logical than leaving it midway through to buy bags of ice and PIMS cups, despite paying a caterer to do my dirty work instead. Hm?" Serena retorted, glaring at her friend.

" Touche I know what you mean...and I still don't know why I went along with Humphrey's naïve idea to get the ice ourselves instead of sending one of the cater waiters to do it. Although I should've known, once a cater waiter, always a cater waiter." Blair sighed, rolling her eyes, then going on, shifting subjects slightly. "Anyway, speaking of catering...dinner party, did you say? Who are you having do it? Where? When?"

"It's going to be in two days and at Dan's new apartment...and I'm cooking it myself. If you and Chuck want to come, you can...it's at two PM." Serena replied, handing her a card she'd written.

"In two days...but that's Thanksgiving? You're hosting Thanksgiving at Dan's apartment? And you're cooking it yourself?" Blair asked skeptically.

"Yes a four course turkey dinner with all the trimmings...and I'm making it myself. If you want to B, you can bring the pie." Serena smugly replied.

"Well maybe I will...if Chuck and I even come. From what I've heard that apartment is tiny, and Chuck and I have standards, you should know. Still I'd love to come just to see what a Serena Vanderwoodsen Thanksgiving would even look or taste like...even in that tiny flat. But I'll have to run it by Chuck first...and to be honest I don't know if he'll approve, because he's angry. And you wouldn't like him when he's angry."

"What? He turns into the Incredible Hulk?" Serena mused.

"Huh? No, I don't have any time for your games, S, I need to eat. And speaking of waiters, hey garcon over here, I'd like to order, please." Blair haughtily replied, waving a waiter over as she placed an order for chicken soup and a skinny decaf latte, as Serena just chuckled at her friend's antics.

Xoxoxoxo

So after lunch, the girls both went back to their prospective work locations. Blair back to her offices at her mother's company (which she considered her own) to make sure the dress they were going to make for the parade was being made, while Serena went back to Dan's apartment (which she considered her own) with her groceries to make some of the recipes she'd wanted try for Thanksgiving Day. For both young women it was an interesting experience of trials and errors, albeit fashionable and delicious ones. Serena's culinary experiments also proved to be a culinary coup for Dan Humphrey, who even Serena thought needed to gain a few pounds lately.

"Mm...wow Serena, I'm...impressed...and surprised. You can cook...and its more than just waffles..." Dan replied after trying her some of her food.

"Of course. Never underestimate the abilities of a determined woman. So do you think it's good enough for Thanksgiving?" Serena replied.

"Yes...it's great...and just like a couple years ago when you helped me make a turkey for Christmas, its just as delicious...perhaps even better. Cream sauce and butter? Any more of this and you'll make me fat!" he laughed.

"Well maybe I think you need to gain a little weight. To be honest, Dan, the starving artist look isn't a good one on you...at least in my opinion. I'm glad you cut your hair...but I miss having a bit more of you to love. Anyway it should be better because it's Julia Child's duck a'la orange, instead of just a turkey, and a pumpkin quiche instead of just a pumpkin pie." she replied.

"Ah...you can't let go of the duck and pumpkin, huh?" he teased.

"Nope...although the pumpkin definitely isn't raw this time." she replied, with a laugh.

"True...so no need for french fries?" he mused.

"Oh the pom frites? They're there as well. What's a holiday without its traditions?" she coyly teased as she brought out the fried potatoes she's marinated first.

"Ha ha...mm these are good...though they taste interesting." he replied, tasting a few.

"That's because I marinated them in a Pino Noir before frying them. I was inspired by those beer chips you bought at the bodega the other day. I thought, hey if they can make chips that taste like that after being marinated in beer, then why not wine? I'm sure Julia would've done the same thing..." she laughed.

"Mm..good idea. Very creative...and delicious. You might have something going there...how much did this cost to make?" he asked.

"Well the potatoes were inexpensive, and the wine was about a hundred..." she pondered.

"You used a hundred dollar bottle of wine on your fries? Wow! Well I guess you might as well scrap that idea because...no offense...but you can't make much of a profit using a hundred dollar bottle of Pino..." he admonished her.

"Unless you sell it as gourmet. Do you really think they're that good? That I could sell them at gourmet shops? Because if you like that, and the pumpkin quiche, then you'll love my cupcakes and donuts..." she enthused as she went to the kitchen and carried over the desserts that she made.

"Well they're not bad..." he began, but was interrupted mid-sentence by a knock at the door, which he stood up from the table and walked across the room to answer the door, a bit surprised at their guest.

"Lily...it's nice you came over for a visit...you know that my dad doesn't live with me here, don't you?" he asked.

"Oh of course. How are you doing Daniel? I'm not here for your father, I'm here looking for Serena." Lily replied as she strode into the flat, making a quick visual inspection of the place upon entering.

"Mom! Hi...I didn't know you were stopping by. How are you doing?" Serena greeted her mother, giving her a hug, or at least attempting to.

"I'm doing well...and you must be too...and been busy since it smells delicious in here. Did you order in from Jean George?" Lily asked, seeing and smelling the array of food.

"No...I actually made this all myself."

"Seriously? Well good for you, Serena. You've certainly found a creative outlet for your talents...which were apparently hidden until now. You have quite the spread here too. Perhaps not as big as some of my brunches...but for having made it yourself...its certainly not bad." Lily commented trying a bit of what her daughter made.

"Thank you mom. So did you just stop by for a visit...or did you need something?" Serena asked.

"Oh yes...I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by. Not only see where you're living, with Dan, but also to let you know that you both are invited to join Bart and I for Thanksgiving at the penthouse. We'll be having our usual fare...and its at two PM." Lily replied.

"Thanks mother...but Dan and I were actually thinking about hosting Thanksgiving at his place here..." she replied.

"Oh that's sweet...and this is a great little place...but do you have enough room here? Hm...I know, why don't we compromise? You could host your Thanksgiving at the penthouse. It would allow for whatever guests might arrive...and I'm sure Bart would consent to it better."

"I don't know...Can I still cook?" Serena asked.

"Of course. The kitchen there is far larger and would definitely give you more room to...make whatever you want. Although I'm still using my caterer to fill-in...to take the pressure off of you, darling." Lily replied.

"All right...thank you mom...maybe that would work..." Serena replied as she considered that option and decided to go with it because she knew her mom's place was better suited for a dinner party than the flat she was currently in right then.

Xoxoxoxo

The next day or so passed quickly enough, with everyone making preparations for the holiday one way or another. While Serena's was leaning more towards the traditional, with meal planning and so forth, Blair's was venturing more towards the non-traditional...though not without trying to go the traditional route.

For lack of anywhere else to go, and per her mother's suggestion, Blair called the Vanderwoodsen-Bass household and asked Lily if she was hosting Thanksgiving. Lily told her they were, then mentioned that she had attempted to invite Chuck and her to dinner, but hadn't been able to get in touch with Chuck for the past day or two. That said, Blair confirmed the invitation, before ending her call with Lily and attempting to call Chuck herself. Not being able to get in touch with him either, on Thanksgiving morning Blair decided to take matters into her own hands and headed over to where she thought he might be, but he wasn't there.

However she soon learned that he was alive but was holed up at the Empire again, in his old suite. So, Blair walked over towards the hotel, frustrated and unsure what to do or how to confront him. On her way, she happened to spot her old high school boyfriend, and her erstwhile husband Chuck's best friend and sometimes flatmate, Nate Archibald sitting on a bench across from the Empire Hotel. Curious to see if he had any insight into Chuck's standoffish behavior from the past few days, she sat down on the bench beside Nate to talk.

"Nate...hello Happy Thanksgiving...so what are you up to? You're not toking are you?" she asked skeptically, sniffing the air around him to telling whether or not he'd been getting high.

"Ha ha no...gave that up...at least this much in public. I'm just hanging out, thinking about going down to see the parade. If you're not doing anything, you can come along." he nonchalantly replied.

"Thanks for the invitation...and to be perfectly honest I probably should since a celebrity is supposedly wearing one of my designs in the parade...but I'll give it a rain check for now because I need to see Chuck first. You don't happen to know what's going on with him, do you? He won't talk to me or anybody, and as far as I can tell he's holed up in his suite at the Empire and isn't taking any guests. I just want to make sure he's okay and isn't turning into Howard Hughes." Blair inquired.

"Ha ha it's good to know that you're concerned for Chuck, this year." Nate chuckled, then went on. "Anyway, I don't know every detail, but I do know that a couple of days ago Chuck had a confrontation with Bart involving his investigation or something, and I think they were arguing about his business, their personal relationship, and possibly even you. Then all I know is that Bart left and Chuck started acting strange and decided to go to the Empire. So that's all I know..." Nate replied, recounting what he could remember.

"Well that does give me a bit of a clue about the situation going on with Chuck, so thanks Nate, I appreciate it."

"No problem, Blair, anytime." he replied, checking his watch, before saying "Oh, I've got to go now, so talk to you later." as he bade her goodbye, then left.

"That's fine. Thank you for the information, again. It certainly gives me an indication of what might be going on with Chuck." she replied, then pondered what to do, as she nonchalantly stared up at the building and not only thought on what to do next, but also pondered on her past relationships and how her one with Chuck Bass was so much more than any of the others.

Knowing what to do then, Blair went to a costume shop and picked up a few things, before going back with a renewed determination to confront Chuck. Walking into the hotel, she ignored anyone who might stare, but seemingly few even paid attention to her as she rode the elevator up to the penthouse suite of the Empire Hotel and strode across the suite until she found Chuck slumped on the sofa in his black silk pajamas watching TV and drinking a scotch.

Looking bleary eyed, but still oh so hot, Chuck stared up at her and growled in his enigmatic manner of disillusionment as he commented "Blair...how did you know where to find me?"

"I just followed the scent of your musk...and talked to Lily, Nate, and bribed your doorman. There no stopping a woman when she's determined. Anyway, what's up with the sudden Howard Hughes routine?" she confronted him.

"Its nice to know that you care. Or is it because I'm playing the Byronic hero, and that's something that appeals to you now?" he asked, his voice a growl of seductive angst and jealousy.

"Very funny...although I am a sucker for angst, but only your version, Chuck. Nobody does it better..." she replied.

"Touche. So what's the purpose of your visit? You know you shouldn't be here..." he replied.

"I shouldn't? And why not? I came because I love you and I'm worried about you. I want to know why you're acting this way...although I might have a solution...your own personal Thanksgiving spread..." she replied, coyly unbuttoning her coat to reveal the sexy lingerie and impromptu costume she'd put together.

Staring up at her, Chuck replied "So you thought spreading your legs so that I could Poka-yer-hotness would make me feel better, little indian princess? Well..." smirking slightly.

"Yes...indeed. Still I didn't come here just for sex..." she replied, suddenly thinking to herself "_Though you are a fine piece of ass with those silky pjs and that sulky expression, yourself, so yeah I want you to poka-me-hot Bass." "_I really do care about you and am concerned...we could talk or..." she added, though clearly distracted by sexy Chuck as she walked closer to him and stood in front of him.

"Hm...no talking..." he replied, pulling her down onto him, on the sofa and removing the thin satin barriers that provided only a temporary shield for her most private areas, which he knew all too well. Blair too slipped her hands under his silky pajamas to get to the hot, sexy man inside, divesting him of his clothes until they were practically nude making love on the sofa, providing Chuck Bass was still the sofa king after all.

Chuck sat up with a groan, slightly out of breath from their quick round on the couch, as Blair sighed "Five more minutes...Do...that...again...sofa king good..."

"Ha ha...A'right...but in the bedroom..." he chuckled as he glanced down at her body.

"I thought we both liked voyeurism?" she mused.

"Yeah...but my bed's more room..." he slyly replied, regaining his strength to carry her into his bedroom to lay her on his bed, cover her body with his own, then continued on with a slower round of love making, kissing his way down her body to give her pleasure imaginable with his mouth and his fingers at her very core, just as he knew she liked, before climbing back on top of her to thrust his way home inside of her body again and again, until collapsing in a heap at the end. Not only was he breathless and spent afterwards, but so was she. Blair loved the feeling of being intimately with Chuck. The feel of his hot, sexy body on top of her, inside of her, underneath her, or beside her nuzzling her neck, he was one sexy beast.

Afterwards they lay together, and Chuck fell back to sleep, so Blair rested a bit too, until she had to go to the bathroom, then realized after that that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade might be on, so she slipped one of Chuck's robes on and walked into the living room to turn on the television. Once on, she couldn't believe her luck that she'd timed it that she didn't have to wait long until Carly Rae's performance was on TV for a minute or so. It was cute, but unfortunately for Blair, if she was wearing the dress that Waldorf Designs had created, few could tell since it appeared to have been hidden under a blue coat and a pair of pink tights or stretch pants.

Curious about the situation, Blair called her people to learn that the dress had been picked up by the girl's stylist, so she called the stylist, but only got her voice-mail. So feeling slightly frustrated, Blair slunk back into the bedroom and into Chuck's bed to cuddle against him. That seemed to startle him enough that he woke up and rolled over to face her, and ask "Is something wrong?" as he rubbed her back.

"Mm...yeah...a Waldorf Designs dress was supposed to be worn today by someone who was performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade today...and apparently it wasn't. Then, I couldn't get a hold of the celebrity's stylist...even though her not answering her phone is very unprofessional, even if it is Thanksgiving..." she replied.

"It's Thanksgiving? Not that I have much to be thankful for...Although...maybe that's why Lily's been trying to call so much...lately." he replied with slight sarcasm.

"You didn't know it was Thanksgiving? And what do you mean, you don't have much to be thankful for? You have me...you have not only the next generation of Bass on the way..." she said as she moved his large hand to her abdomen. "But you also have your father back from the dead, so to speak, so you should be thankful that you have a second chance."

"That...is why we can't be together...why we shouldn't have done this...and why you shouldn't be here now." he sighed dejectedly, attempting to withdraw from her, but she wouldn't let hm.

"What do you mean? Why shouldn't I be here? Because it can't be because you don't love me enough. That you don't love our baby, or us together enough. I know that isn't true! So tell me why. Why have you been in this mood lately? Why the sudden withdrawal? You seem to want to be together, but act like we can't. I just want to know why." she adamantly replied.

"It's...complicated...but I will admit it is not your fault. No all of the blame lies with my father. You know how I've been investigating into his shady business dealings? Apparently I've unearthed some sensitive information and now he's making threats against me and the ones I love. He obviously knows about us...but if he were to know about...the baby...I..." he replied, unable to hold his composure in the end.

"Threats? Your own father is threatening your safety...our safety...if we take what you know to the authorities? That's ridiculous! We should tell somebody. Hire bodyguards. Something...Hmm...maybe our accident last year was actually your father trying to..." she pondered aloud.

"Bump me off? I've feared that now, ever since my father's threats. That car may have been sabotaged...perhaps by henchmen of my father...and in the end it threatened not only my safety, but also your's...and even caused the loss of your first child. No, I will not risk that again. Still if it was my father who caused the accident, why did he donate blood to save my life? And did he hire the muggers to try to kill me in Prague? Then hired Eva to nurse me back to health...only to continue to torture me in the future? These are strange times we live in, indeed..." he pondered aloud.

"Enough conspiracy theories about the past. Bart's evil, I know, but I'd hate to imagine that he actually wants to kill his own son. He might think of himself as 'God'...but he certainly isn't. At least not in my opinion." she adamantly replied, then went on. "Anyway, I'd like to get to the bottom of this...and the best way to confront an enemy without instigating an entire war is to do it on neutral turf...or at least semi-neutral turf. Today's Thanksgiving and Lily's invited us both to attend...and actually my mother insisted that we go as well...since she and Cyrus made reservations at Gerard Besson, then were going to visit my father and Roman at their chateau in the countryside today."

"Neither of your parents are here for you this year?" he asked, surprised.

"No they are not. Instead, my mother insisted that we spend the holiday with your side of the family this year." she flatly replied, garnering some sympathy from Chuck. She then sighed, and changed her mood slightly. "Anyway, apart from now wanting to confront Bart, I already had a vested interest in this Thanksgiving dinner because I happened to run into Serena the other day and she told me that she was planning to cook the entire dinner...which is definitely something I'll have to see to believe. Apparently though, instead of hosting it at Dan Humphrey's microscopic flat, she's helping her mother at the family penthouse, thank goodness."

"Serena is cooking the Thanksgiving dinner? Ha, this is something I'll have to taste for myself." he chuckled aloud in bemusement. "Still...she might cover the main course, but what about dessert? You know how much I love your pie..." he seductively insinuated.

"Indeed I do. I already have a pumpkin pie cooling at home...and I know how much you love that...but I also know that's not my only pie that you prefer..." she seductively insinuated, as he gave her a wink and slid under the bed covers to take another quick sample of his other favorite pie of hers', taking her to ecstasy, and distracting them both for a few moments.

Afterwards they showered together, had another pie and sausage sampling in the shower (because they were both super horny and thought that being wet together made each other hotter), then dressed, refreshed, sated, and ready to get on with their day with family and friends at the Vanderwoodsen-Bass penthouse. Dressing, Blair helped Chuck pick out a gray suit that complimented the ladies businesswoman's suit that she wore for the day, and added a red bow tie to Chuck's ensemble to give it a festive touch.

They made it just in time, gliding over in the luxury of Chuck's limousine so that they could arrive in style, picking up Dorota with the pie on their way. When they arrived, they all rode up the elevator together, arriving at once as their own little entourage, preparing to greet and perhaps go head to head with their friends and family. Or at least certain members of them.

"Charles...Blair...we're so glad you two were able to make it, just in time. The food will be served momentarily. Make yourselves at home, and have a glass of wine...you may need it." Lily greeted them with a haughty air kiss and a compulsory hug of sorts.

"Thank you, Lily we will do that." Chuck replied, scanning the room, as Blair piped up "Yes, thank you for your warm greeting Lily...and I apologize if I'm mistaken...but I thought that _Serena _was hosting this event? A five course turkey dinner and all..."

"Well she was, along with Dan...but after I realized how much work it was...I called on a catering staff I know...and they helped. Plus we have some unexpected guests here today, which distracted Serena's attention at the moment..." Lily replied as she motioned across the room with glance, causing Blair and Chuck to glance that way and notice that Stephen and Sage were there, with Serena and Nate conversing with them. As well, Georgina had apparently invited herself over and was seemingly deep in conversation with Dan. Along with Bart's presence, it was certainly shaping up to be an interesting Thanksgiving dinner indeed.

"I brought Ms Blair's pie today, to share with everyone, Mrs Lily." Dorota interrupted, breaking the silence.

"Oh thank you Dorota, you may place give it to the caterers or help serve it too. I'm sure we'll all enjoy it. And make sure to save a piece for Charles. I know he especially loves Blair's pie." Lily replied.

"Blair's pie? Ah you know me well, Lily. Indeed I do...Sampling her pie gives us both such pleasure..." Chuck replied with a cheeky smirk, glancing at Blair, who jabbed him in the rib and comically chastised him with a "Oh Chuck!"

"And speaking of turkey, I wonder what brand it is? I know I prefer a Honeysuckle...while your preference leans more toward a Butterball...remember a few weeks ago?"

"What? Oh I'll butter your balls if remind me of that again..." she threatened.

"Really? Can I suckle your honey?" he cheekily asked.

"Didn't you already this morning?" she cheekily retorted.

"A touche indeed." he smirked slyly, before regaining his composure and dark mien as soon as Bart walked into the room.

Xoxoxoxo

As Chuck and Blair were exchanging dirty comments between each other, another pair were having a confrontation all their own.

"Georgina, why are you even here?" Dan asked as he scowled at his earlier partner in crime.

"What do you mean? I heard Serena was hosting a party...and there's nothing like crashing a Vanderwoodsen event. Anyway I'm here to see how you're coming along with Project S...and to collect your chapter on her." Georgina replied, coming up with an excuse for her presence there.

"It's coming...but I need more time..." he replied.

"Time's ticking away...and it honestly waits on no man...Or are you becoming weak and reconsidering?" she chided him.

"No...I'll have it for you soon..." he replied, jealously staring at Serena who was still talking with Stephen.

Xoxoxoxo

"Serena...I just thought that I would apologize for what I said or thought earlier when we last parted. I thought about what I said and realized that I made a snap judgment when I shouldn't have. I know I'm not perfect." Stephen commented, and near pleaded with Serena.

"Well...thank you for your apology, Stephen. It's nice to know someone who recognizes his faults and where he's been wrong, then attempts to correct it. That's a refreshingly mature attitude to have. I'll think on it..." Serena pondered.

"Recognizing my mistakes and apologizing for them is the least I can do. And as far as snap judgment...ah...being a former PK, I should've remembered Matthew 7:1-5 "Don't judge, lest you be judged, for others will treat you as you treat them. And why worry about the speck in your brother's eye, when you have a plank in your own?..." and so on...which more or less translates to why judge people for their issues when you have bigger issues of your own, which you should take care of first. Good advice, I'd say." he replied.

"You quoted biblical scripture? You're well read...but what's a PK?" she curiously asked.

"Preacher's kid. My father was a preacher...and let's just say being at large family gatherings is very familiar...since I grew up as the oldest of seven children. It was quite a household, let's say, with my sisters and younger brothers, both the one closer to your age, Simon, and the twins. I don't know what they're up to these days...although I think my one sister is a high school principal or guidance councilor at a school in California..." he nonchalantly commented.

"Seven kids? Wow...I can only imagine..." she mused.

"Yeah it was quite the household..." he mused, going on with stories about growing up with his family, then glanced across the room and posed a question. "Serena...your friend over there...Blair is it? She looks familiar somehow. I was just wondering if she's ever been to my hometown of Glen Oak, California? She looks strikingly like the girl that caused Reverend Hampton to leave our town, and my father's church, with his adopted son and move across the country for her...although I remembered her as a blonde..." he pondered aloud.

"Blair? No...I don't think so. B's done some interesting things in her life, like marry a prince, date my ex, dance at Victrola, fall in love with and have quite the relationship with billionaire playboy Chuck Bass...but I don't think she ever prompted any preacher to move across the United States for her. Maybe you're thinking of Ivy Dickens or my cousin Lola?..." Serena replied inquiringly.

"No...I swear your friend looks like her, despite her hair color...but if it isn't her, then she must have a secret twin out there..." he mused, as Serena chuckled in reply, pondering the possibility.

"Perhaps..." Stephen replied as he sidled up to Blair inquiringly. "Blair is it? Have you ever been to Glen Oak, California have you? You don't happen to know a Reverend Chandler Hampton, do you?"

"Reverend Chandler Hampton? No! And I've never been to Glen Oak, California...thank you very much..." Blair haughtily replied, as Chuck asked her "He isn't bothering you is he?" to which she replied "No...not very much...though I am a bit hungry..."

Finally everyone's conversations were finished when the caterers told Serena that the meal was ready, so Serena made an announcement and told everyone to sit down at the table to eat, which they did. Conversation was light but still a bit stilted among some people, and the reception between Chuck and Blair to Bart and Lily was as cold as ice, with the most animosity flowing between Bart and Chuck.

"So son...have a nice night? Kill anymore vermin for Blair?" Bart asked nonchalantly smug.

"No...though I'm still on the hunt for the biggest rat yet." Chuck quipped, eying his father angrily.

"Oh I see. I thought you were angry that you were missing something? If you are, I'll inform you that I had what you wanted...briefly...until I asked Lily to destroy it...and she did. I saw her do it with my own two eyes, so now you have no evidence against me." Bart chuckled slyly smug, as he sipped coffee as black as his soul.

"What? You didn't do it, did you?" Chuck asked, the anger glowing in his eyes as he stared down his step mother.

"Of course, Charles. Bart is my husband. I'd do anything for him, because he loves me." Lily replied, remotely cold in her response.

"Lily..." Blair gasped as she stared at her coldly.

"You know he's just using you..." Chuck reeled, but Lily just merely placidly obeyed, the consummate ice queen. And thus the cold front between the two couples turned glacial indeed.

The rest of the Thanksgiving dinner progressed, but it was quite the awkward affair for some. The conversations at the opposite end of the table was also a mix of curious conversations.

"So...Georgina...its nice that you could come...but what about Philip and Milo?" Serena asked curiously.

"Well...personally I don't usually celebrate holidays...except for Halloween. That said...Philip is with his family for the holiday...and Milo is downstairs being watched by Vanya...or he's riding the elevators..." Georgina slyly replied.

"But...isn't Milo only...two and a half years old? I distinctly remember being with you at St Vincent's when he was born in June of 2010." Dan asked, slightly concerned.

"Yeah I guess so...but ever since he's learned how to walk he's been his own person...just like me." she smugly replied, before going on. "Anyway, I'm here because I needed something that I can only get from Dan Humphrey...so I'm just waiting until he's ready to give it to me. Even if I have to corner him in your bedroom, tie him to the bed, and I have to whip him in the process. Too bad I forgot my whip and bondage cuffs..."

Overhearing part of the conversation, Chuck piped up "If you're looking for a pair, look in my former bedroom. There's a secret compartment in the closet...unless Lily remodeled it away..."

"Oh I know where you're talking about, Chuck. I'll go get it, if you'd excuse me..." Blair replied, rising from the table to go search in Chuck's old bedroom.

"Mm...bondage cuffs in your bedroom? This only proves my opinion of you and your perversions Chuck..." Bart chuckled evilly.

From the other end of the table though, Serena was more concerned about Georgina and Dan. "Georgina, really? You came here to try to press Dan into having sex with you? Are you really that desperate?"

"Oh sex? Is that what you think I'm asking from him? Ha ha...wouldn't you love to know what I'm really asking from him? But you'll discover the truth soon enough...and I can't wait to witness the fall out. Anyway, what's your concern for Dan, when Stephen is still at your side?" Georgina replied.

"Stephen's here...but we're not together anymore...I'm with Dan now..." she replied.

"Oh really? That's news to me. No wonder you went rogue...hmm...Humphrey?" Georgina replied, grilling him slightly.

"Rogue? Dan what is she talking about?" Serena asked curiously, as he sheepishly replied "How should I know?" though slightly flustered, attempting to hide the truth as Georgina glared at him.

The rest of the dinner dissolved in a round of tension, as everyone became suspicious of everyone else and eventually left to go back to their own places.

Xoxoxoxo

Later that night, as everyone were settling in, Bart called Nate with a request that was more of a command than anything. "Nathaniel...you know how I helped you bail out your paper? Well it's time to call up that favor for me. I have a story that must be run tomorrow...and if I should say so...it will bring you the extra publicity you need because it will be the business scoop of the century."

Sadly, even if it wasn't what he wanted to do...Nate had to run the story that Bart faxed him, even if it would incriminate his best friend in ways that he knew...or at least hoped wasn't true. Later he also received another article, this one written by Dan Humphrey, which was also very slanderous...so he was at a conundrum. Should he run both articles about people he cared about, against his better judgment , and save his own neck...or risk it all...and let the chips fall as they may. What a decision indeed.


	9. Chapter 9 The Revengers

The Revengers

The next morning, Blair and Chuck awoke initially well rested and content after spending the night sleeping in each other's arms after several rounds of well deserved reunion sex. They both loved the feel of their hands skimming each other's bodies, memorizing every curve as if implanting it into some unconscious database to be retrieved at a later date. Both were reluctant to leave the bed, although Chuck seemed the most anxious for good reason, even if Blair was reluctant to let him leave.

"Hm...five more minutes...you can take your shower later..." she groaned, rubbing her body against his, and running a hand down his chest, across his abdomen, and between his thighs, as she began to stroke his penis and the sack below until he began to come alive in her hand. She could even feel the blood pulsing through him there, and chuckled at the knowledge.

"A'right...once more...then join me in the shower after..." he growled, his voice low and seductive, as he reached down and pulled her legs around his waist, until her heels dug into the fleshy part of his ass, as his hands then traveled around to caress her thighs and ass and stimulate her core with his playful fingers, before positioning himself there and thrusting in. Blair gasped at the invasion, but was pleased with the results as her body began to convulse around him pleasurably. He was taking it slow and she loved it, but for some reason he wasn't going very deep...or as far as she would've preferred...so she was groaning in his ear "Deeper...Chuck..." between her moans of pleasure, as she dug her fingers into his hair.

Uncharacteristically, Chuck actually made a coherent reply that wasn't just profanity, as he grunted "Can't...don't wanna hurt...junior..." between thrusts and kisses.

"Junior? You're calling it that now?" she teased reaching down to try to touch him at the base of his penis, and where they were joined.

"Ha ha...no..." he chuckled, panting and kissing her neck. "Here..." he added, placing his large hand across the distended area of her abdomen where their baby resided at the moment.

"Aw...oh...I told ya before...sex is fine. You're a big boy...where it counts...but you're not going to accidentally give our child a black eye with your penis..." she teased, making sure to stroke him and coax him with her body as she said it.

"Ha ha...if you insist..." he chuckled, as he then thrust fully in, causing both to groan in pleasure as he did . They then proceeded to make love a few more minutes until they both fully came...then Blair had the urge to pee. So she left the bed for the toilet, as Chuck followed behind and jumped in the shower...and she soon joined him. After their refreshing shower, they left the bathroom, wrapped in robes as they began to discuss their plans for the day.

"...I told you Chuck...you're not alone. You shouldn't have to battle your father alone...and I shouldn't have let you talk me into the idea of conquering our issues alone. Strong couples try to help each other and battle their issues together as much as possible...that's why I'm not going to let you flounder alone any longer, Bass." she replied, encouragingly.

"If you insist...though I never wanted to drag you into my issues with my father. He's too dangerous...and I didn't want to put you in danger." he replied.

"Oh seriously? I doubt it's that bad..." she replied skeptically, as he retorted "No...it looks to be even worse...read this..." showing Blair the cover page of the Spectator.

_**BASS WANTED BY THE FEDS**_

_This intrepid reporter has a scoop. An anonymous source wishes to reveal the possibility of dirty dealings at billionaire cooperation Bass Industries. Apparently for the past several years, during the shaky economy that has swept across the country, Bass Industries has been able to keep itself solvent only through backhanded and illegal means. The scam has been revealed thus far to be illegal importation of oil from the Sudan, a country the US has an embargo with, paid for not only by money, but underage prostitutes from South East Asia, among other locales. The oil was not only sold to refineries in the US and thus sold as gasoline and fuel oil throughout the country, but also used to power the various businesses owned by Bass Industries. This scam was reported to have taken place between 2008 and 2012. The mastermind, apparently one Charles Bartholomew Bass, who officials will now be investigating further, along with his reported fiancée or wife Blair Waldorf, President of Eleanor Waldorf Designs..._

"Ohmigod...CHUCK! They're accusing YOU? You didn't do it did you?" Blair gasped after reading the article.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Chuck fumed angrily. "This 'report' is revealing in print all of the crimes I discovered my FATHER to be guilty of...but instead he's now trying to pin the rap on me!"

"Just because your name is Charles Bartholomew Bass. I could actually see how someone could've written the article and substituted your name for his...why it would have been just adding a 'Charles' in front of every 'Bartholomew'...and substituting my name instead of Lily's. But they also included my original position at my mother's company, dragging her into the dirt, and she is going to have a fit when she realizes her name was included in this slanderous article." Blair moaned as she imagined the comments Eleanor would make to her next.

"Yes...I know. We have to demand a retraction...but who is going to believe that I'm not the guilty one when Lily destroyed the evidence we had against Bart?" he pondered aloud.

"I don't know, but we'll have to think of something. Both of my fathers are lawyers...and even if its a bit of a conflict of interest because of my relationship with you...they may be able to help." Blair pondered as she contemplated what to do next.

"Speaking of retractions, this was in the Spectator...so I'm going to the owner and Editor in chief...my 'good friend'... Nate Archibald..." Chuck commented as he attempted to call Nate and ask him a few questions.

Xoxoxo

Meanwhile, back at their flat, Dan and Serena also had awoken refreshed and ready to get on with their day. Both seemingly optimistic about what the day would bring, although that optimism was soon shattered by what was revealed in the morning papers.

"Woah...did you read this article about Chuck? And apparently Blair was in on it too. I knew we should've only trusted them as far as we could throw them...which isn't very far." Dan chortled as he read the article.

"What? Lemme see!" Serena interrupted as she grabbed the iPad from Dan and scanned through it, exclaiming aloud "Poor B! This isn't what she needed. Neither of them really. And from what I've heard, I'd guess Bart had been the real guilty party, not Chuck. Remember how they were glaring at each other yesterday? You think you have a dysfunctional relationship with your father at the moment, Dan? Well, I would say the relationship between Chuck and his father, Bart Bass, is ten times worse! Dysfunction with a capital 'D'!" as she skimmed the article, until something caught her eye in the margins of the webpage.

"Hey what's this? An article about me?" she mused, as Dan suddenly exclaimed "Oh...uh...you don't need to read that..." as he tried to grab the tablet from Serena, but she playfully kept him at bay.

"No...I want to read it to see what they have to say. Maybe my Thanksgiving dinner made the society pages!" she mused as she enthusiastically began to read the article. However her enthusiasm soon began to wane as she actually began to read it.

_**Serena Vanderwoodsen...the INSIDE scoop...by Daniel Humphrey**_

_You may know of Serena Vanderwoodsen through her various appearances in the society pages. From the teenage debutante who danced on tables, to the young future matron of New York lately best known for hosting or appearing at fund raiser benefits. Still I can guarantee that none of you fair readers have the INSIDE knowledge of her that this intrepid reporter has. Let me reveal to you then the Serena who cons men with an assumed name. The Serena who parties so hard that she's known to kill her fellow partiers. The Serena who scams her friends to get ahead, two times her lovers, is constantly late, thinks of no one but herself, expects the world to fall at her feet because of her beauty and reported sparkling personality. This reporter has seen past the facade and will reveal all now..._

"Dan is THIS what Georgina said she was going to whip out of you last night?" Serena asked, angry and hurt.

"Serena, I can explain..." Dan replied as he attempted to, but after a bit, she wouldn't hear anymore of it.

"Dan...that's enough. I don't want to hear anymore of your excuses. I trusted you with my heart...and you did this to me? How can I ever trust you again? We had our one chance...and you blew out it! That's why I want you to leave...now!" she fumed.

"B-but...this is my apartment!" he gasped.

"All right, fine. Then I'll leave. And that said...don't expect me to be coming to visit you any time soon...and you'll be hearing from my lawyer!" she replied, coldly packing her things, intent on speaking with her lawyer, not only concerning Dan, the article's author, but also Nate and the Spectator who had the gall to print it.

When Serena left, Dan was still stunned at the sequence of events that had just occurred and actually did feel regret in the end because he'd come to care for Serena once more. In an effort to even begin to make amends, he called the source of his grief, pressing '13' on his speed dial as he said "Georgina..."

xoxoxoxo

Chuck and Blair decided to go to his lawyer's office in an attempt to clear his name and defend himself, but on the way over, they both felt like they were being followed or at least ridiculed by everyone they saw.

"Blair...has that black SUV been following us since the hotel? I feel like people are watching." he mumbled, clearly nervous.

"I don't know, but maybe it has. Anyway I know what you mean about feeling like the eyes of the world are watching our every move. Accusing you of a crime you didn't commit...but instead your father did. I'm glad we're in a limo though." she sighed.

"So am I...but if they are my father's henchmen, they'll recognize my limousine. It's easy to distinguish if you know how." he commented.

"Really? How?" she inquired.

"All of my father's limousines have sequential license plates. As well there is a distinctive emblem usually added to the trunk, and a microchip buried somewhere inside. Unfortunately I never saw the necessity of removing any of those items from mine...until now."

"So you removed them?"

"No, unfortunately not yet..." he sighed in reply.

"Oh Chuck. Well perhaps no one is really following us and its our paranoia talking, do you know what I mean? I believe that the SUV that you thought was following us turned off a block or two ago anyway. So let's just relax...and try to assess our situation..." she replied, grabbing his hand in her own, in a moment of solidarity, placing her small, dry hand in his larger one, feeling his slightly sweaty palm.

"You're telling me to relax? Ah what is the world coming to?" he teasingly replied ask she chastised him, until he added "Thanks..." with a low chuckle.

"You're welcome. Anyway, if you want to relax...I know the perfect way to help you..." she coyly offered.

"Hm...I don't know if we have time? Do you have stockings on, or tights?" he replied, starting to slide off the seat to get on the floor.

"Tights...unfortunately...but no you get back on the seat. The last time we did this in the limo, you serviced me...so now it's time to repay it by servicing you..." she coyly replied, sensuously sliding to the floor, as she rubbed his thigh and reached up to unbutton his pants.

Chuck just sat back and sighed with a slight grin as he realized what a fortunate man he was to have found a woman like Blair. A woman with just as base of tastes as himself when it came to impromptu sex. The fact that loved to taste him just as much as he loved to taste her certainly didn't hurt either. Chuck sighed and let the world wash away, as Blair toyed with him a bit, caressing his now aching appendage, before taking it in her mouth and working her magic.

For Blair, servicing Chuck in that way was a duty that she was happy enough to perform, if only for the power it seemed to give her to wield over him. The fact that merely touching, caressing and kissing a relatively small area of his body caused him to pant and moan and his eyes to roll back in his head in ecstasy caused her to feel very powerful indeed. So the pair spent the next several minutes thus occupied as they waited out a snarl in traffic on their way to his lawyer's office.

Xoxoxoxo

While Chuck and Blair were having their favorite diversions, while making their way toward their attorney's office, another young woman was just making her way home after talking to her lawyer. There she had learned that she could sue Dan for libel and defamation of character and Nate for having the nerve to actually publish the article. Currently Serena was attempting to decide which way to proceed, since part of her didn't really want to bring a law suit against either guy, since she still had a soft spot for both of them, while the more rational part of her thought that she should. Bringing the full charges against either guy was still something she was trying to decide...although to the guys' knowledge the fact that she was still undecided was something that they didn't know. Especially the guy who was following her at that very moment.

"Serena...just listen. I apologize again for that article...I don't know how it was published when it was...I just have to blame Georgina on that." Dan pleaded as he followed her into the Vanderwoodsen penthouse.

"Oh...so now its all Georgina's fault? I suppose that you're going to say she wrote the article too...and bribed Nate to publish it? Hm?" Serena sarcastically replied.

"I don't know maybe she did bribe Nate? But I'll stand by every word of that article, because of course its true." he egotistically replied.

"Oh really? So you really think that I'm a wasteful, air-head who was on a full-on slut-spiral, and you were only pretending to date me...to fall in love with me...so that you could get the inside scoop on the Upper East Side?" she sarcastically inquired.

"No to the first part. The 'air-head' 'slut-spiral' comments are pure Georgina...so blame her. But as far as the second...well it started off that way. What better way to get inside information on the Upper East Side than to get inside Serena Vanderwoodsen...literally. And it was pretty easy too...playing the poor, poetic, lovelorn, awkward virgin, once upon a time. But after awhile...it wasn't pretense anymore. I...think I did begin to fall in love with you..." he declared.

"Really? Just like all of your other girlfriends? Anyway, if you did love me, why did you go through with publish the article?" she skeptically replied.

"I...just wanted to tell the truth. I...thought that everyone's entitled to the truth behind Serena Vanderwoodsen...at least how I saw it...and if it makes for a good story...so be it." he replied.

"You...used me for money? Dan Humphrey...I...hate you! And don't come any closer...I...just went to see my lawyer...and I have a restraining order against you. You can't come any closer to me than...fifty feet...starting...now!" Serena replied, as she coldly stared at Dan.

"Restraining order? Seriously, Serena..." he pleaded, but to no avail, as Serena turned on her well turned heel and stalked off to her bedroom, leaving Dan standing in the middle of the living room, very perplexed.

Suddenly, as if emerging from the woodwork, Bart Bass suddenly appeared, smugly giving a slow clap as he drawled "Bravo...Daniel...quite the performance. Did you really write that about Serena, using it to get ahead in life?"

"Well yes, but..." he began, but was soon interrupted.

"Hm...well. While I should take you to task for insulting my step-daughter, I won't because she won't be for long. At this moment, I'm in the process of divorcing her mother. I also won't because I admire your tactic of not allowing anything to stand in your way of getting ahead, and not getting soft. You're a man after my own heart in that...and with the proper incentive could get far in life. In fact...I have a proposition...especially if you're looking for an opportunity...son." Bart slyly replied, as he shared his idea with Dan, who soon realized that his biggest in yet might be opening up to him now.

Xoxoxoxo

Pissed off at Dan's treatment of her, Serena called her attorney's office and decided to bring a law suit against both Dan and Nate, believing that they were both in cahoots with each other. Because of his new association with Bart, Dan was little affected by Serena's law suit, however Nate wasn't so lucky. Not only did the attorney's associates serve him papers, but also several detectives from the NYPD made a visit to the Spectator's offices, asking questions about his friends and so on.

"I swear officer, I don't know where my friend, Chuck Bass is right now. Knowing him, he could be anywhere." Nate replied, clearly flustered.

"We heard that you two were close...and we just wanted to know if the charges that he's been accused of in your magazine are true. And we would like to know the source of your article." a detective inquired, as his partner vaguely investigated Nate's office.

"I do not know if the accusations stated in that article are entirely true, and to be honest I doubt they are, but that's off the record. However, who's to say?" Nate replied.

"What can you say on the record, Mr Archibald?"

"That my friend, Charles Bass is a good man that has made some poor choices in the past...but it is my belief that he has changed for the better." he replied.

"And what can you tell us about your source for this article?"

"I am not at liberty to reveal my sources..." he replied.

"And what about the loan you wanted to take out for your paper? The banks turned you down...yet you were still able to go on and procure one from an outside source? Who was this outside source and why did the banks turn you down if these figures are true?" one detective suddenly inquired, snooping through some of the Spectator's files.

"I'm not at liberty to say.." Nate nervously replied.

"Hm...given who your father is, Nate Archibald...I'm inclined to say that these figures aren't true. Which is why I think we should take a little trip down to the precinct..." the officer replied, strong arming Nate and practically dragging him out of his office in front of everyone.

Xoxoxo

Over at his attorney's office, Chuck Bass was sitting angrily slumped in his chair as he inquiringly asked "So there is nothing you can do?"

"Concerning your libel case against the New York Spectator's article, I could help you. However, with all of these criminal charges being cast toward you...I'm afraid I can't help you. I and my firm hold your father and his company on a retainer to represent them in legal matters concerning the business...however that puts a conflict of interest with representing you in court on criminal charges concerning the business." the lawyer replied.

"So just because you're on Bart's payroll, you can't represent Chuck during any criminal proceedings concerning Bass Industries? That's illegal, isn't it?" Blair gasped.

"Not quite. We're paid to defend Bass Industries at all costs, not the accused, who is no longer employed by the company." the attorney replied smugly.

Blair was going to say more, but Chuck motioned for her to keep silent, as the pair of them left stoically determined to get to the bottom of the situation. They rode back toward the Empire, but then thought better of it and headed over to the Waldorf penthouse, where they decided to hide out for a bit. Traveling over there though, they felt like they were being followed, so they hid even further.

The pair then began to plot and plan over the next week, attempting to find an attorney who would take Chuck's case, but unfortunately no one in New York City would take it. It seemed like everyone had been bought off by his father, and perhaps they had, since Bart Bass seemed to cast a long shadow of influence over the city, especially since his return earlier in the year. Thus they spent that week holed up at both the Waldorf penthouse and the Empire, investigating further with the help of people Chuck secretly paid to spy for him, and watching a marathon of movies on DVD and through Netflix, between rounds of sex. Somehow the queue included the 1980s version of Beauty and the Beast, a show Blair remembered her mother once claimed she loved to watch back in the day. Both of them found the show somewhat contrived, if not too fantastical at times, although they both loved how deep Vincent seemed to be and what a fine actor Ron Perlman was in it. By the third season though, the storyline involving Vincent, Catherine, their infant son, and an evil businessman named Gabriel began to hit too close to home...suddenly causing Chuck to speculate some wild ideas indeed.

"Blair...that whole story...The dead mother...the baby, with a rare blood type, being held in captivity by an evil megalomaniac businessman...I think that happened to me! I think that's MY back story?" Chuck pondered aloud, while in bed with Blair.

"Seriously? I don't know Chuck? I doubt that happened to you. I mean you're definitely a 'beast' in the bedroom...mm...but you are not Vincent the beast's son. Ha ha. Although whether or not Bart 'stole' you from your 'real parents', I have no idea. Anymore, I wouldn't be surprised..." Blair skeptically replied.

"See...my father's evil. He could've done it, you never know. I have people investigating my birth certificate as we speak..." he replied, checking his phone, as Blair sighed.

"Chuck...seriously? Ah check if you want, but personally I think you've been watching too much TV. Anyway, I contacted my fathers and learned that either one is willing to represent you, but you have to go to them. I think it might have something to do with my mother's health...but they also said that they'll give us asylum in France if we want it."

"Really? Perhaps we should take it? I think my uncle Jack is still somewhere in France too, if I'm not mistaken. And if I can get him on board, I think I have an excellent idea to get to the bottom of it all with my father." Chuck replied, optimistically.

"Really? You've got to share it with me, so that I'm on board too. As I've told you before, I'm all in one hundred percent. If we're going to be a team and implement our plans seamlessly, I've got to be in on all of your plans." she retorted, as he slyly replied. "All right here's the plan. As you may not know, I have someone on the inside who is someone you might not expect...and that's all I'm saying on that person's identity. However..." he replied, letting her in on his plan.

Xoxoxoxo

In the end, part of the plan was to fly to France to meet with Blair's family to seek asylum and gain assistance from Harold and Cyrus in their legal matters, and personal matters. As well, Blair would spend time with her mother in what could be her last holiday season, where she and Chuck would hold a 'wedding ceremony' of sorts so that her parents could actually see them marry, rather than learn that they had eloped in Monte Carlo several months earlier. As well, Chuck would seek out Jack help to bring down Bart, especially since he'd known Bart far longer than Chuck had, and he seemingly had nothing else to do since he was still hanging out in the French Riviera.

Still, even the best laid plan do not always run smoothly. Blair planned to meet Chuck at the airport, where they would fly together to France on a Bass Industries plane, arriving after going to an appointment she had with her obstetrician & gynecologist for a check up. However when she told her doctor her plans, he warned her against flying, even if she was in her second trimester now. Heartbroken, Blair still continued onto the airport in a taxi, where she met Chuck on the tarmac and broke the news.

"You made it. Good. Are you ready to go?" he asked her, offering her a hand as soon as he saw her.

"Oh Chuck...I just had an appointment with my doctor, and he told me that I shouldn't fly right now...so I can't go with you." she tearfully replied.

"Is...there something wrong with the...baby?" he asked, sudden concern etching his face.

"No...it's mostly because of what happened last year. Apparently that makes my pregnancy more of a high risk one because my body is still trying to heal since it was only a year ago. I'm sorry though...I'm so sorry because I wanted to go along with you, but I can't. Not until after the baby's born...at least." Blair sobbed in explanation, causing Chuck to start to cry too.

"That's okay...I understand...I love you, B...an don't want anything to happen to you or the baby." he mumbled between tears and kisses, as they shared a tearful scene worthy of a movie for sure, them sharing a long kiss in the end.

Pulling back, Chuck stared down at her ring glad hand and mumbled "I'll miss you, Blair. I wanted you with me in this journey, vowed that we wouldn't be apart for more than a few days...and now fate has separated us once more. It's not fair." acting slightly childlike in his comment.

"I know. But I promise to meet you someday...no matter how long it takes..." she replied as Chuck gave her one last kiss, then boarded the plane, which Blair stayed to watch take off, before leaving to return home.

Xoxoxoxo

Later that same night, at the Empire Hotel ironically enough, the New York City chamber of commerce was feting Bart Bass with an award for being the Real Estate Mogul Of The Year (or something like that) since his most recent real estate purchases since his return to the city had incurred a spike in the local economy in the areas where he'd purchased the properties. Apparently in all of his greedy business deals he had perhaps unintentionally helped to improve certain neighborhoods in the city...albeit temporarily since his real intention was to eventually raze the neighborhoods and turn them into modern megalopolises similar to what developers originally did to the city years earlier to build most of the skyscrapers that existed today.

Anyway, after being unable to travel overseas with Chuck, Blair decided to go to the event later that evening so that she could do her small part in the investigation against Bart. Since it was a black tie event, and she was in a dark mood after being unable to accompany Chuck on his journey, Blair wore a black gown and one of her ubiquitous headbands, which in itself made her feel more powerful. She also noticed though that with Chuck's absence, the tension and paranoia that they were being followed had lessened some, even if she still felt the adrenaline of wanting to help her husband Chuck Bass in any way that she could.

Entering the event, Blair suddenly got a strange sense of deja vu, and it was then that she realized that it was set up in such a way that it reminded her of the slightly eerie political rally scene from Citizen Kane, with Bart in the role of 'Citizen Bass' as the case might be. (In her mind and opinion though, Chuck was far more deserving of the award and recognition than Bart...but that was just her opinion.) In the meantime, Blair mingled with the guests in the fringe of the crowd, so as to be as inconspicuous as possible. Still, she seemed to have arrived just as the ceremony was beginning, as someone walked toward the podium to introduce the event. Who it was though, was a surprise.

Striding up to the podium, Dan Humphrey approached the microphone and made introductions, opening the ceremony with little quips about Bart Bass and his history as a business tycoon and real estate mogul, seemingly rising from a childhood of humble means and relative obscurity. Finally he ended with the introduction "And now without further ado...our man of the hour, Bartholomew Bass..." as the crowd broke out in tasteful applause.

"Thank you...thank you all. I would like to thank the New York chamber of commerce and mayor Bloomberg for this auspicious honor tonight. When I learned of this award, I was surprised at first that the city would recognize me for just doing my job...but then I realized that I am just as deserving of the award as anyone else in my position...so thus I humbly accept. As well I would like to use this platform to make several announcements concerning my corporation Bass Industries, however I must first make one concerning a personal matter first. I have just been informed that there has been a crash of one of my private planes within the past few hours...a plane that was reported to have contained my son, Charles Bartholomew Bass, of whom I am estranged. Despite our estrangement, I would like to offer a moment of silence, for my dearly departed son, Charles..." Bart declared, as he bowed his head slightly in a moment of silence, acting as if he was grieving.

_"P...PLANE CRASH? CH...CHUCK...NOOOOO!"_ Blair inwardly gasped as the shock of the purported accident hit her then. Her gut reaction even startled her baby who seemed to react to the announcement as well...or at least was very clued into her emotions. Still that wasn't the end of her surprises that night.

After the all too short moment of silence concluded, Bart went on, his face its usual stoic mask. "In business, as in life, we all must go on, even after tragedy. Thus, I still would like to make the announcement I intended earlier. In an effort to streamline the hierarchies and internal structures within Bass Industries, I am announcing today that I am appointing a new President of Bass Industries who will work with me. This young man is one that I see great promise for a bright future with our company, and one that I consider like a son. I would like to invite Daniel Humphrey to return to the podium at this moment..." Bart announced, as Dan stepped up to the podium to accept.

"Thank you Bart. I'm surprised and honored to accept this position at your company. I will do my best to fulfill my duties there." he replied, in seemingly mock humility.

"_WHAAAT?! WHAT FUCKED UP ALTERNATE UNIVERSE DO I LIVE IN WHERE CHUCK BASS IS DEAD...AND DAN HUMPHREY IS APPOINTED THE PRESIDENT OF BASS INDUSTRIES?!" _Blair Waldorf-Bass inwardly reeled as she shot visual daggers at both men at the podium.

After the speech was finished, Dan was the first one that Blair was able to confront, and boy was it a confrontation.

"Daniel Humphrey...what was the meaning of that? Accepting the presidency of Bass Industries right after learning of Chuck's demise? How could you?"

"Well Bart was going to give it to me anyway...but Chuck being gone made it all the more convenient. So since you're a widow now, and you only like wealthy and influential men..." he teased.

"No way! I wouldn't go there again."

"Ha just thought I'd ask. Anyway, I still have plans for someone else...who starts with an S..."

"Serena? You better not... Also, how in the world did you get Bart to even offer you the job? Other than being the biggest ass kisser in the world? Like a son? That's rich! Its like you stole Chuck's birthright or something. You know he just wants a lackey who'll do his every bidding, don't you?" she fumed.

"Ha ha, you're quite the character, Blair. Of course...I know what Bart wants...but I have my own agenda..." he replied.

"Yeah I bet you do..." she sarcastically replied, then left him to go find Bart.

Xoxoxoxo

After going to the restroom to refresh herself and regain her confidence, Blair decided to seek out Bart to confront him. Bart though, sought the refuge of a place not all that unfamiliar to Blair because of what she knew of Chuck's preferences. Stepping out onto the roof, Blair wasn't surprised to find Bart standing there, staring, as if waiting for her. Gathering her courage and most of her ire, Blair approached Bart and lay into him with her opinions.

"Bart Bass...HOW COULD YOU? How could you appoint Dan Humphrey a position at Bass Industries right after learning of Chuck's..."

"Death? Yes, tragic loss to the world isn't it? Or at least your world I'd guess. To me it was just the elimination of a thorn in my side...or a necessary evil. Once gone, it could heal over as if it were never there. Charles was never the son I wanted. Too weak. Too emotional. There was a time I even thought him perverted, despite the dancers at his little club that you know so well personally...because he wore so much purple. No he's his mother's son...and his father's."

"Wouldn't that mean he's just like you?"

"No...his real father, Martin Nevins. You see...back in 1990 there was a bit of business that I had with Nevins...so I offered to let Evelyn sleep with him as payment. The liaison didn't matter to me because I got what I wanted, until I realized there were repercussions I hadn't considered. Apparently Nevins had left a little something behind with her. Not a sexually transmitted disease as I'd assumed, but instead, Chuck. I encouraged her to get an abortion, but she deceived me and kept the baby instead."

"Wait a minute. So Chuck isn't your biological son?" Blair gasped in surprise.

"No, he wasn't. I was resigned to the idea of keeping the baby, until I realized that despite his biology, I could raise the child as I saw fit. Could raise him to become just like me. Thus I sent Evelyn away once she began to display symptoms of post partum depression. Unfortunately, despite my efforts, Chuck was not the son I wanted him to be. Lazy, loathsome, emotional, just like Evelyn...and an alcoholic...just like Nevins."

"Really? Ohmigod..." she gasped, but Bart went on.

"Later, when I learned of your relationship with Chuck, I thought that you'd be good for him. Be the perfect, unobtrusive Upper East Side wife who would both keep Chuck focused on business, rather than obvious debauchery, and know her own place. Yet...you're just like her. Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Being schizophrenic in your actions...jumping from prince to pauper to stooge after losing your baby last year. You couldn't be trusted...and you gave Chuck a weakness when it came to family. A weakness he didn't need for at least another two decades. That's why when I learned of you two's little flight to France for asylum, I'd assumed that you both were going on that flight. Why the sudden change of plans?"

"Y-ou...knew of our plans to escape?" she gasped.

"Of course. You were using a Bass Industries plane, so of course I knew. Actually I was the one who suggested it, through my chain of command. It's a pity that you didn't accompany Chuck, because then I could have killed two birds with one stone..." he replied, an evil glint in his eye.

"Wait a minute...you knew that the plane would crash?" she replied in panic.

"Of course. I planned it that way. And since you now know the truth...I'm going to have to make sure it doesn't go any further than this rooftop...Chuck may be dead...and soon so will you!" Bart sneered as he stalked Blair like a predator pushing and intimidating her until he'd had her up against the edge of the rooftop.

Right when Blair feared it was the end for her, suddenly someone burst onto the scene, declaring strong and clear, "Like Mark Twain once said...'The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated'...father."

"Chuck?" Blair gasped, as Bart turned white as a sheet. "Chuck? What are you doing here? How?"

"'Yes, up from the grave he arose...with a mighty triumph o'er his foes..' Yes, father, you aren't the only one who can return from his grave...so can I. Especially when I have friends in high places...and ones with authority over even you. Unhand my wife, or I will bring the power of the FBI down on your back..." Chuck declared with no uncertainty.

"Ha...if you're talking about General Petraeus...I think he has enough of his own problems to worry about himself at the moment, than to help the likes of you, Chuck." Bart laughed evilly as he referred to the US general who'd once been in military school at the same time he was, and was currently embroiled in his own sexual affair scandal.

"No...but good guess. Either way, you're done, father. Unhand that woman...she is pregnant with my child!" he commanded, as he bravely stepped between Bart and Blair, drawing them apart.

"Hm...really? Very interesting...although I already knew it. I'm omnipotent so it isn't news to me. What may be news though, is something that may come as a surprise to you."

"Ha nothing you can say to me father, will come as a surprise." he bragged.

"Oh this may. Mm...you keep calling me 'father' but in that you are wrong. Chuck, I am NOT your father...and never wanted you for a son. Hence why I appointed Dan Humphrey as the new President of Bass Industries tonight." Bart cackled, inciting Chuck's ire.

"WHAT?!" was all Chuck could say in anger and shock, as Bart took that opportunity to threaten Blair again, but Chuck had had enough. He parried Bart's lunge, and thus it turned into a scuffle between father and son as they pushed and shoved around the rooftop. Realization that Chuck was younger and stronger than himself, Bart decided to bow out in the most dramatic way possible, climbing onto the edge of the rooftop and declaring "I realize who might be strongest, and even if after this you may think that you have won...know that you can never best the best..." as he suddenly lost his balance as Chuck and Blair lunged forward to catch him, but it was to no avail as Bart lost it and fell off the edge, briefly catching himself on a ledge ten feet below. The pair tried to offer him a hand, but he refused...and thus slipped off the roof, plunging to his death on the street below, to the shock and horror of both Chuck and Blair.


	10. Chapter 10 New York, I Love You XOXO

New York I Love You, XOXO

"OMIGOD...IS HE...DEAD?" Blair panicked as she peered over the edge of the rooftop at Bart's crumpled body down below.

"Yes..Blair...He fell off of a skyscraper...Of course he is..." Chuck replied, clearly shaken.

"I can't believe what just happened. Bart Bass just...fell off the roof!" she gasped.

"Yeah...and no one's going to believe that we didn't push him...especially if they see any security footage of my fight with him."

"Yeah it was like the scene from Charade, with Cary Grant and George Kennedy...but that scene ended better for Mr Kennedy than it did for your father."

"Didn't you hear what he said? He was not my father after all. Anyway we need to get out of here...before anyone catches on...And so that we can finish our plans..." he replied, ushering her off the roof and down a set of back stairs.

"Plans?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah...you'll see." he replied, as they made their way out of the building and into the parking garage beneath the building, where there was the waiting limousine. However instead of sitting in the back seat like normal, Chuck suddenly became tremendously paranoid that someone would try to get them for what had just happened to Bart, so per his driver's suggestion, the couple climbed into the trunk of the limo and lay curled up around each other. Chuck spooned behind Blair, who was curled up in a fetal position herself, with his leg wrapped around her hip and his hand across her abdomen, in which resided their unborn child in the ultimate fetal position. They were both scared, yet felt protected, and in Chuck's case soon a little turned on, or so Blair could tell as her ass rubbed against his crotch and she could feel him begin to get hard.

"Ha ha...I'm scared...and you're hard...unbelievable." she mused, then added. "So was this your plan all along?"

"No...but it seems like as good of one as any...as long as you don't mind it from behind..." he seductively chuckled as he rubbed himself against her, running his hands over her body.

"Chuck...not right now...but maybe later. Anyway what's our plans?" she teased, trying to change the subject before she relented and christened the inside of the trunk of his limo.

"Mm...well...after my ill fated flight...which I'll fill in the details later...I was able to contact Jack...and he's bringing your parents over from Europe with him as we speak."

"Really? But my mother can't take long flights...that was part of the reason why we were going to fly over to see them."

"Not if the flight is only three and a half hours. Somehow unbeknownst to me, Jack purchased one of the jets after Concord discontinued commercial service...so your parents are flying over with Jack on a supersonic plane." Chuck replied.

"Really? So then we'll be able to have the wedding ceremony that we wanted, for my mother's sake?" she asked, anxiously.

"Yes."

"Oh thank you Chuck, my love."

"Mm...you're welcome." he replied, as he kissed her shoulder and continued to hold her in the car.

They soon made it to Blair's building, where the car pulled into the parking garage. Blair fully expected Chuck to follow her into the building after they'd both climbed out of the trunk, but he had other ideas.

"Come on Chuck. We can go inside, call my priest, and hold the ceremony in my mother's living room, just like when she married Cyrus four years ago. That'll be good enough." she commented, trying to coax him to follow her.

"No. I want to do this right and give you the ceremony we both want. You go in to your parents, darling. I'm going elsewhere to meet with Jack...then we'll discuss our plans. It won't be long now, Blair." he replied.

"I know...though I just got you back. Oh it feels like we're constantly parting...and I hate it." she sighed as she gave him a hug and a kiss, as he returned the favor in kind.

"I know. But it's only until tomorrow...then we'll be together forever..." he reassured her, returning the embrace and kiss, before putting her on the elevator, then leaving himself in another unmarked car.

Blair went upstairs to her family's home, where she met up with her mother and step-father in a happy reunion at last. There she explained a bit of her issues concerning herself and Chuck, but she didn't tell everything, so they were in the dark a bit in reference to what had just happened to Bart that very night. Chuck, meanwhile met up with his uncle Jack, where they plotted and planned what to do next, including the wedding that Chuck knew Blair had wanted, and he wanted too. In the end though, the wedding was going to be more necessary than they realized.

"So, Chuck...you're going to marry Blair again?" Jack mused aloud.

"Yes...she wanted an actual ceremony for the sake of her mother. Apparently Eleanor is unwell...so we're having an actual ceremony, even if it'll only be in pretense." he replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I saw this in the papers not long after the both of you returned to the States. What's apparent is that your 'wife's' ex-husband's family invalidated your marriage license because she attempted to marry in their home country. Ha, I warned you about eloping with Blair in Monaco." Jack chuckled as he showed Chuck a document stating to that fact.

"Oh...I see. And I should suppose that you didn't just make this up or perpetrate it because of your own aversion to marriage, or my being married." Chuck replied, glancing skeptically at the document.

"Ha...although I agree you're still too young to be settling down like this...it isn't my fault this time." Jack replied.

"So when I marry Blair tomorrow, it will be for real this time? Well this wedding definitely have to take place now, no matter what." Chuck replied, thinking on how to accomplish that goal.

Xoxoxoxo

During the next day though, Chuck and Blair's wedding wasn't the only event affecting the lives of the Upper East Siders because as it happened, it was also the same day as Nate's arraignment concerning his creative accounting for the Spectator. Since Lily was indisposed, still in Mireval grieving her husband's death (again), Jack took over as representative from Bass Industries, since they now owned the paper.

Pretty much the entire gang, except for Chuck and Blair, who were still in hiding, attended the arraignment, which only lasted about half an hour and afterwards Nate was able to walk free, albeit in Jack's custody for the time being, and exited the courthouse along with Sage, Serena, Dan, and Georgina. Afterwards, after exiting the courthouse, Georgina handed a box to Dan as it was all part of the preparations for the infamous Waldorf-Bass wedding on the lam.

"All right Dan. You take the flowers to the one location, while I'll take the tux to the other location." she commented, handing the one box to him.

"I don't know how we got roped into helping out with Chuck and Blair's wedding?" he mused sarcastically.

"I'm not sure either, but I thought it would be a great way for you to make up with Serena, if you must, and have a little fun with it. Who's to say and wedding isn't a bit more with a little sneezing powder in a bouquet...or a little itching powder in a tux?" Georgina mused.

"Seriously? Ha ha...I knew you had to have something to make it more...fun." he mused, taking the bouquet and heading toward the part of Central Park where the infamous wedding was about to take place.

Xoxoxoxo

Over in Central Park, not far from the arching bridge, Serena Vanderwoodsen and Blair Waldorf were standing there and chatting, both trying to encourage the other in their plans for the future, although they were both a little nervous.

"So...Nate's trial went fine? He wasn't imprisoned or anything in the end, was he? I apologize that I couldn't be there, but...you know." Blair asked curiously.

"Yeah I know...I think. Anyway Nate's arraignment went fine. I think having Jack Bass there helped in some strange way, if you'd believe it. Yeah its too bad you and Chuck were unable to attend." Serena replied.

"Yes I know. Especially since...ha ha...five years ago it was NATE you and I were arguing over, and who I'd assumed I'd marry...and now I'm marrying Chuck Bass...and you were with Dan most recently, though I don't know why. At least when I tried being with him, I had 'issues' let's say. You...?"

"Blair...that's enough of the insults." Serena chided her.

"I know. Dan seemed like a nice guy...when he isn't being a critical asshole. Even I recognized that last year. And I know from my relationship with Chuck that you can't help who your heart prefers, even if he can be a stubborn pain in the ass sometimes." she chuckled. "Yet, I'm still marrying Chuck, even if we run the risk of being arrested for Bart's murder, because I love him and am willing to take that risk."

"Really? Wow, I love Dan...but I don't know if I would be willing to take that risk...because I'd be afraid he'd stab me in the back again." Serena sighed.

"Yeah learning to trust your loved one after something like that isn't easy. I think it really took me almost two years to realize how much Chuck had grown after that scam Jack tried pulling on us concerning his hotel...and I'd even been culpable in it too to some degree. So thus, it might take time for you to trust Dan Humphrey again, if you ever do." Blair replied.

"Yeah I know...right now, I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust Dan again. Still, thank you B, for the advice. You're such a good friend." Serena sighed, giving her friend a hug, adding "Now let's get you married to Chuck before anything else happens..." as they hurried down to the location under the bridge where the wedding was supposed to take place.

Standing in the shadows, so to speak, Dan Humphrey had inadvertently overheard at least part of the conversation that had gone on between Serena and Blair. Hearing them discussing relationships and then hearing how much Serena was apparently still so hurt over his article about her did make him feel bad. He may want to be as cold, calculating, wealthy, and influential as Bart Bass...with a desire to play God and shape New York City into the way _he _thought it she be...he was still really a Humphrey and still felt bad about his actions, no matter how much he wanted to repress it. So he thus handed the bouquet to one of Blair's minions and walked off to find the male contingency of this wedding, pondering on some of his most recent decisions, and his overall agenda for the future.

xoxoxoxo

The wedding soon began to materialize as Blair went down the steps to the place under the bridge where Chuck had agreed to hold their wedding, since Belvedere Castle was otherwise occupied with another event. Standing in the location they'd chosen, Blair felt vaguely like that 'Catherine' chick from the old Beauty and The Beast television show, waiting for her lover in a open culvert in Central Park, and briefly glanced in the direction that it appeared to be in the show, but couldn't see it. Then, shaking off her paranoia, she glanced toward her friends and family, trying to steady her nerves as she waited patiently for her groom.

Chuck, meanwhile, had just entered the park from a side entrance and was striding boldly across toward the paths that led to his bride, while flanked by his friends, family, and inadvertent cohorts, his uncle Jack Bass, long time friend Nate Archibald, along with Dan Humphrey and Georgina Sparks. Chuck wore the light cream colored, designer suit he chose, and although he looked dapper indeed, Nate made a comment as they approached the top of the steps that led down to where Chuck was supposed to marry Blair.

"Hey you look great, Chuck...but what's with the scratching? Nervous?" he teased.

"Yes...but not why you think. I can't wait to marry Blair in front of everyone...but fuck I can't wait to get outta this suit...The collar more than chafes..." he complained, scratching himself, before taking a deep breath and descending the steps to meet up with Blair, who was already waiting, as Georgina followed along behind carrying the box Dan had given back to her to carry.

Within moments, Chuck in his white tuxedo suit was standing in front of Blair, who was in a pale blue Eli Saab couture gown Eleanor had brought from Paris with her as a special gift. Lacking the time and energy to make a new gown, she'd purchased one in Paris and brought it to give to Blair to wear during her impromptu wedding to Chuck Bass. It was sized such that Blair wore Spanx and a girdle of sorts to be able to squeeze her body into it, and surprisingly enough few knew that she was already pregnant again.

Standing before each other, with the look of love in their eyes, Chuck and Blair waited, as Cyrus launched into the wedding ceremony "We are gathered together to celebrate th union of two very special people, Blair Cornelia Waldorf and Charles Bartholomew Bass, in the presense of their family and friends. Marriage is a sacred union that should not be entered into lightly. As it is said in Exodus..."

Hearing commotion coming toward their location and fearing the worst, Chuck whispered aloud "...Can you hurry it up?"

"All righty then...Will you Blair take Charles as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Three words, eight letters...I love you Chuck...Yes..."

"And will you Chuck..."

"Don't you know it...Definitely..." he replied smugly coy.

"And by the power vested in me and the State of New York, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!" Cyrus hurriedly declared, as Chuck lunged forward, grabbing Blair in a dramatic kiss that swept they both away, as he dipped her, as if in a movie, while Serena, Eleanor, and Dorota cheered in the background.

The revelry was short lived though, as several members of New York's finest from the NYPD descended the steps as Chuck and Blair had said their vows, shouting "Mister Bass...Mister Chuck Bass...We need to speak to you..." as they approached the couple, attempting to tear them apart.

The couple poignantly held each other, pressing their foreheads together once more in a moment of solidarity, as the police officers repeated their request, demanding that Blair accompany them as well. The couple were soon taken to the police station, where they were momentarily held until their families brought them other clothes to change into so that the stench of prison wouldn't forever mire their wedding attire.

Eventually they were released from their jail confinement for questioning, although getting a straight or believable answer wasn't easy since no one wanted to believe that Bart's death had been an accident, since everyone knew Chuck's stance on Bart. As well the security recording from the rooftop that night seemed to have disappeared. Thus the two of them were further confined apart, unsure how to prove their case, and with Blair panicking that they'd be imprisoned so long things might happen.

"Oh mother...not only do I worry about Chuck, but I'm also worried that if I'm imprisoned too many more months, my solitary confinement won't be so solitary anymore." Blair cried forlornly from her cell.

"Blair, what are you talking about, that your 'solitary confinement won't be so solitary anymore'? Do you think they're going to let you have Chuck for a roommate?" Eleanor asked, rather perplexed.

"If only...No mother. If I'm confined here for another three months...or so...I'll be getting a roommate...I can certainly guarantee. One though that would probably be not quite two feet tall and could weigh anywhere from six to eight pounds or so...I hope. Yes mother, I'm pregnant...again."

"Really? Oh Blair...and you just married Chuck! You and your unwed motherhood." she sarcastically replied.

"Mother! I thought I'd married Chuck in Monte Carlo, months ago! Anyway, at the rate I'm going, your first real grandchild is going to be born in prison. I don't want my baby with Chuck to be born in prison, just like Javert from Les Miserables!" she sobbed, panicking a bit.

"Javert was born in prison? Is that why he was such an asshole about obeying the law? Anyway darling, both of your fathers are lawyers. We'll make sure your baby isn't born in prison, so don't worry." she replied, as she arranged for money for their bail to be paid.

Eventually, their bail was paid and Blair was released to her family, but poor Chuck was still imprisoned for awhile, until the case was brought before a judge. Given that several people, from Blair's fathers, to Jack Bass, to even Georgina, and Nate Archibald and his infamous Grandfather Vanderbilt had influence in purpetuating a speedy trial, Chuck was able to see a judge just before the new year. Blair waited patiently with Chuck, hoping for the best...and inwardly praying that it would be. Finally when she took the stand, she told what she could about the night, Chuck confessed what he knew, and what they had of the security footage was shown.

It appeared to be a tenuous case, with a split jury, when surprisingly, new evidence was brought into the case by several sources that were unexpected. Coming out of nowhere, a new video was released on Gossip Girl which showed how Bart Bass had clearly fallen off of the building, if not jumped, by his own efforts...then refused any help that his son Chuck and his now daughter-in-law Blair, had attempted to give. Thus the case was clearly shown to be an open and shut case. As well, other evidence was brought forward that also exonerated Chuck from any wrong-doing concerning the article that had been published just prior to Bart's death.

The source of this information came unexpectedly from the sources of William Vanderwoodsen and Dan Humphrey. William because he'd been investigating into Bart's past as soon as he'd learned of his return to New York. William claimed he'd done it to spare Lily, Serena, Eric, and inadvertently Chuck, from the embarrassment and pain of what Bart had really done...but really he'd also done the investigation because he'd wanted to win Lily back from both Bart and Rufus.

As far as Dan, his new position as 'President of Bass Industries' gave him an inside position he'd never dreamed he'd have. Trying to run the company after Bart's death and Chuck's imprisonment however didn't prove to be as easy as he'd thought it'd be, especially with Jack Bass coming back into the picture. Still though, he was able to find the recording after researching some information on something involving Bart's ownership of the Spectator, surprisingly enough. Even though he could have held onto it forever, the moralistic side of him that he'd been attempting to suppress for the past half year or so, suddenly came through, as he realized that releasing it would no doubt go a long way in repairing the damage he'd wrought on his former friends through his books. Also he figured that helping to free Chuck Bass might go a long way in reuniting with Serena...especially when he met up with William Vanderwoodsen and he encouraged him along that vein of thinking.

After the trial, Chuck and Blair cautiously approached Dan with tentative appreciation as Chuck said "I owe my freedom to you Dan Humphrey...I can't believe I'm saying this, especially after how you lambasted everyone in the press...but thank you."

"Oh you're welcome, Chuck. So do you have anything to say too, Blair." he replied.

"I'm appreciative as well...but any relationship either Chuck or I have with you from now on is tenuous at best. You may have earned a level of forgiveness, but remember, you've only begun to earn any respect from us again." she replied, holding him to task and deflating his ego just a bit.

Finally, Serena approached Dan and replied "Dan...thank you for helping to clear Chuck and Blair of Bart's death...but like B said, our relationship with you is tenuous at best. That's why I think you and I should just take things really slow from here on out. One good deed does not earn full respect right away. You'll have to keep working on yourself...actually we both should continue working on ourselves...until we're at the place where we can make it work...even if it takes awhile longer." as she contemplated the future and he did as well.

Making her way home, Georgina was walking along trying to arrange for a cab or a town car or something to pick her up. Apparently Philip wasn't home or was being difficult because she'd been so involved with Dan, Serena, Nate, Chuck, Blair, and so on, rather than caring for him or their son. She was in such a mood that she didn't notice the limousine until it pulled up next to her on the curb.

"Hm...Georgina Sparks, is it? Looking for a ride? If you are...I'd be happy to give you one..." the man teased from inside the limo.

"Oh I'm sure you would Jack Bass...but if I get one from you, what's my husband supposed to think?" she slyly replied.

"Mm...why should he even have to know? It would be our little secret..." he teased.

"That's true...Philip gave me a free pass with Humphrey's ass...so why not your's too Mister Bass? Actually...he probably wouldn't even care..." she sighed.

"Really? If you were my woman, I'd care...You have a mind I would love to explore...as well as elsewhere..." he teased seductively.

"Mm...that sounds like an offer I can't refuse...all right Jack Bass...I was bored, but now I'm intrigued...so I'll take that ride...now..." she mused as she climbed into the limousine with Jack Bass and let him give her a ride the type you can only get from a Bass.

Xoxoxoxo

Time passed, as it always does in life. After all of the major issues involving Chuck's freedom were resolved, other legal issues involving Bass Industries came up. Because of Bart's illegal activity, the solvency of the business was in question, so in the best interest of everyone involved, the company was split into several separate entities. The Industry entity involving business and manufacturing, as well as the branch in Australia, was given to Jack Bass to lead. The publishing branch, including the Spectator and other forms of print and digital media was given to Dan and Nate to run as they saw fit, using their strengths to build off of each other. The branch of the company involving real estate transactions was headed by Chuck Bass, as he learned to better wheel and deal with various real estate investments both large and small.

On a personal and professional front, Chuck and Blair led a more relaxed and comfortable life. They joyously celebrated the holidays by buying a beautiful Upper East Side townhouse to live in, especially since Blair's pregnancy literally popped over night it seemed after their wedding. A few months later, to the joyous tears and screams from Blair, until she finally got an epidural, their son was born...all eight pounds, one ounce of him. He was an adorable little guy who his parents immediately adored, thought looked like Chuck, and eventually named 'Henry.' A name Chuck liked, since that was what he'd named himself while hiding in Europe about three years earlier.

Blair's business flourished too...especially when she realized that her mother wasn't dying after all. After the success with her teen line, Blair branched out into a children's line, inspired by the birth of her own child, as well as a line of her own sexy lingerie. If that silly '50 Shades' book could do so well...(a book Blair investigated into to make sure it wasn't written by Jenny Humphrey under a pseudonym, combining her one night stand with Chuck with presumptions about what 'Chuck & Blair' were like in private...much like lil J's brother's stories...)...despite the fact that Blair felt her own relationship with Chuck was far hotter than the fictional 'Christian & Ana Steele', then lingerie inspired by personal experience would sell well. And it certainly did, giving even Victoria's Secret a run for their money for awhile.

Still though, high end, adult fashion was always what Eleanor was more focused on, and during her quest to investigate Jenny, Blair inadvertently learned what a well respected, yet edgy and hot young designer she actually was. She was even being courted by some of Europe and Asia's top designers, so it was definitely a coup and a breath of fresh air to get Jennifer Humphrey to sign with Eleanor Waldorf Designs.

Meanwhile, as Chuck and Blair were settling into their own little life of business and domestic bliss in New York, the rest of their friends were out and about. Nate and Dan decided to run their entity of the business by letting Dan run the editorial and business end, and Nate the marketing and the other half of the business end. That meant either guy could travel trying to sell the business to advertisers or potential publishing partners, or acquire writers from all around the world. Serena also sort of worked for them too, but traveled in different circles and only saw them on occasion. Slowly Serena tried to rebuild her personal relationship with Dan, but they took it slowly, until they really were the mature adults either knew they could one day be. Thus, five years later, they finally came to a decision that would eventually impact everyone to some degree.

As far as the third in the triumvirate running Bass Industries, the part run by Jack Bass, something interesting happened. Jack continued to lead his part of Bass Industries as he usually did, variating between Australia and the United States in his usual pattern. During this time, he was also dating various women periodically, but without much seriousness...though the fact that his nephew Chuck was able to marry and procreate, while he was still under twenty-five, did rankle him a little.

Eventually a business opportunity arose for Jack where he was able to buy out a company that had been owned by the Sparks family, the same Sparks family which included their 20-something, newly widowed, daughter Georgina, who's husband had recently perished in a tragic skiing accident. Interested, Jack rekindled his relationship with an eager Georgina...and before he knew it, Jack Bass was suddenly a married man with a 24 year old wife and a young step-son. Married life took some getting used to for Jack, but the Bass mansion in Sydney was more than large enough to give everyone enough room to do their own thing, although since both Georgina and her son Milo were quick witted and slightly devious, they proved to be interesting additions to his life so he actually liked spending time with them...and spoiling them.

Though, despite enjoying the life they made together as a family in Australia, as well as elsewhere, (Georgina just loved the fact that Jack was a billionaire and far more wealthy and powerful than Philip had ever been.) what Jack and Georgina loved most was the type of 'relationship' that they developed with Jack's only other Bass relatives, Chuck and Blair. Between the Bass men, it became a contest of who could spoil their family more. If Chuck took Blair on a trip to the Caribbean or the Maldives...Jack suddenly bought an island in the Caribbean or the Maldives for Georgina. Cars, houses, diamonds, designer clothes & perfume, for the ladies. Toys, pets, real estate, vacations, treats, and so on for the children, it went on and on. Georgina also loved the fact that by marrying Jack Bass, she became Chuck's aunt, and Blair's aunt-in-law so to speak...so whenever she saw them she teasingly called them 'nephew' or 'niece', if only to rankle them. She even loved to brag how Milo was several years older than Henry, thus that much further advanced in everything, and that much closer to receiving some obscure Bass family related 'inheritance' Bart had supposedly left behind in the final copy of his will for any 'heirs' in the family after Jack or Chuck, no doubt never expecting that possibility to ever be realized.

Jack fully expected though for his only heir to be his adopted son, Milo, and no doubt Georgina did too...so after several years of marriage, they were surprised to learn that their vacation on their private island in the Maldives recuperating with a round of antibiotics after a bout with a curable STD, had proved more productive than they'd thought and thus their own baby Bass had resulted. So when they flew to New York for a business conference and Serena's wedding, they had several passengers in tow.

"Hello nephew...hello niece...its so good to see you..." Georgina haughtily replied as she gave an air kiss toward each as she entered the room.

"Hello Georgina..." they sighed, as she retorted "It's aunt Georgina to you!"

"I'm not calling you aunt Georgina...where's Jack?" Chuck asked as he looked past Georgina toward her entourage.

"Oh he's coming...he was still on a business call with someone from Singapore..." Georgina sighed as Jack soon entered the house still on the phone, where he soon headed straight for the bar, and Chuck followed.

Georgina then turned toward Blair and exclaimed "Lovely home, Blair...but our mansion in Sydney is bigger...Hm...and speaking of bigger...My gawd B, I heard that you were pregnant, but I didn't know you were as big as a house! You look about ready to drop! Do I need to have 9-1-1 on speed dial? And I'll have to give you the number of my personal trainer for...afterwards."

"No...Georgina, I'm pregnant with twins...and due in two weeks. That's why we're hosting Serena's wedding here...because I'm technically supposedly on bed-rest, but there was no way I'm missing my best friend's wedding." Blair replied.

"Oh yes...darling Serena's wedding. When I heard she was taking the plunge after finally making up her mind, I knew I had to attend. The fact that Jack had a business meeting in the city gave us all the more incentive. Anyway, speaking of babies...you should see who I brought along...not only Milo...but also meet little Jezebel..." Georgina exclaimed as she snapped her fingers and a nanny stepped forward holding an elaborately decorated Moses basket in which contained a tiny, newborn, infant girl.

"Jezebel?" Blair asked skeptically, looking at the baby, then adding "Quite the name! Uh I'm afraid to ask, but where did she come from?"

"Oh Blair, do I have to explain everything? Okay...when a mommy and a daddy really love each other..." she teased.

"Cut the crap Georgina, I just meant, you didn't kidnap her from anyone, did you?" Blair admonished her, getting right to the point.

"Kidnap? Is that what you really think of us, Blair? No wonder Jack and Chuck have the relationship they do! No...I didn't kidnap her...I gave birth to her...two weeks ago in fact. So that's why I'm not quite back to my formerly rocking body...but I'm getting there." Georgina exclaimed, as Blair then noticed that she was wearing a beautiful, albeit slightly boxy gown that hid her current shape fairly well, making it believable that she might've given birth within the past month. She then went on.

"As far as names...well Jack thought that Milo had been a biblical name...so thinking we should continue that trend, he picked what he said was his favorite woman's name from there...which was that. Plus I'd thought Jezebel Bass had a nice ring to it, don't you agree?"

"Jezebel Bass? Ah...only you Georgina. You do know about her though, don't you?" Blair sighed.

"I went to that Bible Camp so of course I know that Jezebel was a slut...but to be honest, I don't care..." Georgina nonchalantly replied...until she was interrupted by her own son coming up to her.

"Maw-mee...when are we going to the toy store and the candy store...you promised..." Milo whined.

"Go ask your father..." Georgina sternly replied, but her son cut her off.

"I tried...but he's over there drinking with uncle Chuck and talking about naked women...and he told me to ask you!" Milo whined.

"Oh really? Well maybe your nanny can take you..." she replied, as her son interrupted one last time.

"Cool! Can I have a C-note? I wanna buy a..." he babbled as Georgina sighed "All right, son, but this is the last time..." as she opened her purse and handed her eight year old son a hundred dollar bill.

"Motherhood...don't you agree, Blair? I don't know how it is with your son Henry, but from my experience, ever since Milo has become a Bass, he's totally turned into a spoiled brat. But that isn't any different than his natural father, in reference to _his _relationship to the Upper East Side." Georgina replied, as she watched her young, slender son with his mop of dark, curly hair go bounding off in search of his nanny.

Blair kept her opinions to herself concerning Georgina's parenting skills compared to her own, and what she thought of handing one hundred dollar bills to young children to spend at the toy or candy stores, or how much Milo did resemble his natural father, who was going to be arriving soon himself for the wedding, yet acted as entitled as his step-father and his mother. Blair also took a moment to digest the fact that Georgina Sparks and Jack Bass were not only united in a rather unholy union of matrimony, but had now created a baby together...a baby that was probably technically 'more' of a Bass than her children, since Chuck had been the unintended result of a forced liaison between his mother and the mobster businessman, Nevins...if what Bart had confessed in his last moments were true...but the less society knew about that the better.

Soon afterwards, various friends and family began arriving for the wedding, along with the final catering crew and so on. It soon became total chaos as everyone got into place for this special family wedding. Even Eleanor and Cyrus were in the city at the time and they came over for the wedding as well, especially since Serena had been Blair's friend for so long, and they both wanted to check in on their daughter in her last stages of her pregnancy with twins. (This second pregnancy was a miracle and a blessing for the family, especially since Blair feared she couldn't get pregnant again when she failed to do so right exactly on the 'two and a half years after Henry' schedule she'd set up for herself several years earlier. Fortunately, Blair's fertility fears were unfounded and it had just a matter of timing...and finding time to de-stress. Currently though, the pregnancy was a physical discomfort, as her body grew to proportions she'd never imagined, and thus she'd be glad when it was over with.)

Nonetheless, currently it was Serena's wedding day...and what a lovely bride she made in her designer ball gown with the gold accents. With her perfect gown and her perfect hair, Serena Vanderwoodsen looked like a model from **Brides Magazine,** and thus she was, her wedding becoming a feature story in **Brides **as well as the **Spectator. **This fact made Blair Waldorf-Bass a little jealous, since her own wedding to Chuck, over five years earlier had been such a rushed affair, having been interrupted by the police no less, (and her royal wedding to Louis over six years ago, had left her with bad hair and bad memories) but she could still be the bigger person and be glad for her best friend on her happy day, today.

"Oh S...its your wedding day! Are you nervous? Excited? I can't believe you _finally _made up your mind." Blair laughed as she excited congratulated and encouraged her friend.

"Yeah I know, B! Oh I'm excited and nervous and everything! Ah...I'm getting married! But I do think I picked the right guy, at long last. And I have to thank you and Chuck for being willing to open up your home for our wedding...especially since I've always wanted you as my bridesmaid..." Serena gushed.

"...And having it here is the only way...because of these two little girls here. Oh yeah they're probably going to be troublemakers...because they feel like they're already fighting for Queen Bee...and they're not even born yet! But I wouldn't have it any other way." Blair replied as she suddenly felt her babies kick and move inside of her.

"Ha ha only you Blair would be giving birth to two Queen Bees...with Chuck Bass as their father as well. Constance Billard will definitely have to watch out for those two in fourteen or fifteen years, wouldn't you say?" Serena teased, as Blair replied "Oh I expect it!"

Chuck, meanwhile, was just standing around, chatting with people while they all waited for the wedding to start, when he suddenly felt a tap on his thigh and looked down to see his young son standing there looking rather upset.

"Daddy..." the boy whined.

"Yes, son...do you need something, Henry?" Chuck asked, staring down at his young son.

"Milo stole my DS and said that its his and now I can't play my game...and he called me a baby and said I couldn't go to the toy store wif him and I should go back to my rocking horse..." the little boy cried to his daddy.

"Oh boy...one thing at a time. A'right...so Milo called you a baby so you couldn't go to the toy store with him?" Chuck asked, as he pulled his son to the side and sat down on a sofa to talk.

"Yeah...and I'm not a baby...I'm gonna be a big brovver when my baby sisters are born...when are they going to get 'ere, daddy?" the boy asked.

"Uh...a few more weeks, Henry. So what were you saying about your game?" Chuck replied inquiringly.

"Milo stole my DS and called me a baby and said it was his..." he pouted.

"Oh really? Hm...well...here I'll let ya play a game on my phone..." Chuck replied, pulling his personal mobile phone out of his pocket, downloading a children's game onto it, and handing it to his son.

"Cool!" the little boy exclaimed as he reached for the phone, but Chuck held him back a bit first "What do you say first?"

"Thank you, daddy! Can I keep it?" he replied.

"Ha ha...no...Henry, you're too young for a cell phone, yet...but maybe in a few years." he chuckled.

"Whatta 'bout my DS? Milo took it..." he asked, pouting slightly.

"I'll talk to Uncle Jack, aunt Georgina, and cousin Milo about that one...Or we'll just get ya a new one. Maybe when mommy has your sisters I'll take you to the toy store and get you a new one...is that a'right?" he bemusedly asked.

"Okay daddy." the boy replied, suddenly becoming engrossed in his video game. Chuck looked down at his son, who was quite the precocious lad at times and definitely all Bass...with a bit of Waldorf thrown in too. Suddenly the boy said "I love you, daddy." which caused Chuck's heart to swell a bit, as he leaned down and gave his son a kiss on the top of his soft little head, which smelled like the children's L'Occitaine shampoo that he used.

How his own father Bart Bass could ever resent being a father to such a sweet child (since he imagined his son to be a copy of himself at age 4 or 5), Chuck could never know.

Suddenly, his son innocently asked his father a question, which surprised him, while playing his game,

"Daddy did you really shove Grandpa Bart off the roof a da Empire State Building..."

"Where did you hear that from, Henry?" he asked curiously.

"Milo said it when I shoved him off my rocking horse, before he stole my DS. He said I'm a shuvver just like you to grandpa Bart..." the boy started, but was soon interrupted by his father.

"What?! Oh...don't worry about what Milo said. I did not shove anyone off of a roof, even your grandfather. He just...had an accident...I'll tell you more when you're older." Chuck replied, as his son accepted that excuse and seemed to move on, however sadly it dredged up Chuck's memories of his own father which would now always be clouded a bit by a level of guilt that he'd been unable (or unwilling?) to help him in his last moments, a guilt which he'd carry with him for the rest of his life, no matter how much therapy he'd have.

Eventually the wedding began to assemble, with guests sitting in chairs around the living room and balcony as the priest stood at the front with the rather anxious looking groom, as Henry Bass played ring bearer for the couple and Blair was matron on honor for the bride, Serena Vanderwoodsen. The bride and groom stood in front of the priest and with a few quick vows and happy tears, and after a soul searching journey of five years, and a relationship that spanned nearly a decade, Serena Vanderwoodsen and Dan Humphrey were finally married too.

And thus the friends were settled to some degree, with both Blair and Serena best friends and married to the men of their dreams...interestingly, neither of which were the boy they'd 'fought over' back in high school, their long time friend, Nate Archibald. Nate though was content enough in his life, liked to date different women, and felt like he was still on a journey of self discovery himself. If he wasn't married at 27 years old, like everyone else, he didn't find it to be that big of a deal just yet.

A few weeks after Dan and Serena's wedding, there was excitement at the Bass home as Blair went into labor a day before her scheduled cesarean, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, and made it just in time to give birth to their twin daughters, Audrey Evelyn & Claire Eleanor Bass...who both resembled their big brother Henry as a baby. Big brother was proud and excited to have baby sisters...but in the end he was just as excited by the new Nintendo DS and other toys his parents (or mainly Chuck) bought him around the same time too...since the babies didn't do much at first other than eat, sleep, cry, and need a diaper change. So thus Henry spent most of the time playing with his toys and their old dog Monkey, as he waited for his sisters to grow up a bit more.

So thus we leave our friends on the Upper East Side of New York City for now, to live their lives and continue to grow and mature into the people they were always meant to be.

Until later...New York, I love you XOXO – Gossip Girl


End file.
